Rafael Benitez targeting a new striker - but admits some Newcastle players will have to leave

Benitez watched Newcastle continue their pre-season preparations with a 1-1 draw at Championship side Preston on Saturday, with Aleksandar Mitrovic opening the scoring for the Magpies in the eighth minute.

Mitrovic’s future remains in considerable doubt given his lack of activity last season, but with Daryl Murphy having completed a £2m move to Nottingham Forest and Adam Armstrong having joined Bolton Wanderers on loan, the Serbian is the only senior attacking alternative to Dwight Gayle currently on Newcastle’s books.

The situation is far from ideal with the start of the Premier League season now less than three weeks away, and Benitez agrees there is a pressing need to recruit a new striker.

Newcastle have inquired about £5m-rated Bordeaux forward Diego Rolan, and have also been linked with long-term target Bas Dost, who would cost more than three times as much.  It remains to be seen how much money Mike Ashley is willing to commit to a new attacker, but the Magpies’ fortunes will almost certainly hinge on the quality of their recruitment work between now and the end of next month.

“We are trying to change some players,” said Benitez, when asked about his pursuit of a new forward. “We have to wait to see the right offers, and then after we will see if we can add some players.

“I think we need some more players. I wouldn’t say how many, but it also depends on the market. Mike convinced me he would give us the last penny of the money available.

“We are not asking for more, we are asking for the money we can use. We can generate some more money. Hopefully, we can do that.”

ON TARGET: Aleksandar Mitrovic celebrates scoring Newcastle's opening goal in their 1-1 draw at Preston

Newcastle’s net summer spending currently stands at around £20m following last week’s arrival of Jacob Murphy and Javier Manquillo, with Osmanlispor attacking midfielder Badou N’Diaye having become the latest player linked with a possible move to Tyneside over the weekend.

West Ham have lined up a £8.5m deal for N’Diaye, who is a 26-year-old Senegal international, but Newcastle officials are understood to have been in contact with their counterparts at Osmanlispor to see if there is any chance of engineering a deal of their own.

Benitez is looking to increase his transfer kitty through player sales, with the likes of Karl Darlow, Chancel Mbemba, Grant Hanley, Henri Saivet and Emmanuel Riviere all available.

Trimming the squad would help raise revenue, and it would also leave Benitez with a more manageable first-team group. As things stand, the Magpies manager is presiding over a senior group comprising around 30 players, and while that might have been necessary for the Championship, it is proving unwieldy as he prepares for a Premier League campaign.

“We have too many players now, so not all of these players can have a future at the club,” said Benitez. “We have too many now, and we need 25 players. I don’t know about those leaving because it depends on other clubs, but we continue to monitor every situation.”

One player that Newcastle did not want to lose is highly-rated defender Lewis Gibson, but the 17-year-old is close to joining Everton for a fee of around £6m.

County Durham-born Gibson, who can play at left-back or centre-half, has been regarded as the brightest prospect in Newcastle’s academy for a couple of years, and was an ever-present in the England Under-17 side that lost to Spain in the final of this summer’s European Championships.

His age means that he is only on scholarship terms at Newcastle, and while the Magpies have been keen to tie him down to a professional deal, they have been powerless to prevent him holding talks elsewhere.

Everton’s respected head of recruitment, Steve Walsh, recommended him to Ronald Koeman last summer, and the Merseyside club have beaten off competition from a number of their Premier League rivals to land the youngster.

ON THE RUN: Siem de Jong rides a tackle from Preston's Ben Davies during Newcastle's 1-1 draw at Deepdale

Newcastle’s pre-season preparations continued with a fairly unremarkable draw at Deepdale on Saturday, which was mainly notable for the first appearances of Murphy and Manquillo, who both came off the bench in the second half.

The Magpies opened the scoring when Mitrovic, who had scored twice at Deepdale in the league last season, netted from close range after Preston goalkeeper Chris Maxwell saved from Paul Dummett.

Mitrovic hit the post shortly before the half-hour mark, but Preston levelled before the interval when the Newcastle defence failed to deal with a looping cross from the left and Tom Barkhuizen volleyed home.

Gayle saw a decent effort saved in the second half, before Siem de Jong also went close with a shot that was tipped over.

Newcastle First Half: Elliot; Dummett, Mbemba, Lejeune, Hanley; Shelvey, Diame; Aarons, de Jong, Atsu; Mitrovic.

Newcastle Second Half: Darlow (Woodman 70); Clark, Mbemba, Lejeune (Manquillo 76), Yedlin; Colback, Hayden; Murphy, de Jong (Roberts 62), Perez; Gayle.