Newcastle Pursuing Rafa Benitez Contract Extension as Club Targets Deal Within Next Two Weeks

Newcastle are hoping to come to an agreement regarding Rafa Benitez's contract extension at St James' Park within the next few weeks.

Benitez took over the reins at Newcastle in 2016, guiding the Magpies to promotion from the Championship in his first full season before avoiding relegation from the Premier League in 2017/18 and - as is likely to be the case - again in 2018/19.

According to ​The Chronicle, ​Newcastle are currently in negotiations with Benitez over an extension to his contract, but the two parties are yet to agree on some of the proposals put forward by the Spaniard during previous discussions.

The report from The Chronicle suggests that Benitez would have parted company with Newcastle if they had been unable to avoid relegation this season because he still wishes to manage at the highest level in Europe.

As it stands, Newcastle remain the only club from the Premier League who are in discussions with Benitez.

Newcastle have already tabled an offer, but Benitez wants certain conditions to be met before he agrees to extend his stay in the north east - including a bigger transfer budget and larger salary.

Benitez discussed his situation after Newcastle's win over Leicester on Friday, reiterating the fact that things need to change behind the scenes if he is to commit his future to the club.

"You have to do your job but obviously you need some help," he told ​Sky Sports. "We are thinking about the future but we cannot go too much further. This result could change a lot of things and hopefully will change a lot of things but still, we have to do the right things at the right time.

"We know what we have to do, we have experience in doing that and I think the fans appreciate that."