RAFAEL BENITEZ claims Mike Ashley has delivered a “positive” transfer message ahead of a frantic end to the window when the Newcastle United manager expects new players following the collapse of Amanda Staveley’s takeover advances.

Despite insistence from the Staveley camp that she remains interested in buying the Magpies, Ashley has taken the stance to publicly draw a line under negotiations he has described as “frustrating and a complete waste of time”.

Benitez claims to have known for weeks that any prospective takeover would not take place this month and, after fresh talks with Ashley, he is under the impression he will be backed on the transfer front before the end of the month.

The Newcastle boss had already been given the go-ahead to make a few loan signings, which have not materialised as yet, but yesterday’s message ahead of this evening’s match at Manchester City seemed to suggest he could be given more.

Benitez said: “We are waiting for someone now to give a little lift. I will not talk about numbers because I don’t know how many. Sometimes you have a target and you think that you are there. I wanted (to have a squad finalised) January 15 or January 20 because then you have time. But OK, we are a little bit under pressure but we will try to do our best. How many players, we will see.

“We are working on it. I don’t know if anything is closer, but we have the green light to bring players in. That is positive that there will be some money spent this month. It will be a red light when we get to the end of the transfer window, but it is a green light now.”

He added: “We will see now during the window but the message was positive. It was really positive the message, so we will see where we are at the end of the window.”

Benitez is known to have been looking ahead to Staveley successfully taking over at St James’ Park because he was expecting it to end with greater power in the transfer market this month.

However, Staveley has not improved on her final offer of £250m without clauses and an unwillingness to improve on that – with Ashley demanding at least £300m without clauses to take things seriously – led to the Newcastle owner’s statement this week.

Now the focus is on whether Benitez will be given the cash to invest in his squad , with the fight to avoid relegation from the Premier League well and truly on. There are fears that the Spaniard could quit, either after the window closes or in the summer, if he is not given the financial backing he craves.

That wouldn’t suit Staveley and PCP Capital Partners when they decide whether to return with an improved offer, with Benitez viewed as a key component of their plans for the club.

Former investment banker Mehrdad Ghodoussi, PCP’s managing partner and Staveley’s husband, told The National in Dubai: “We would love to buy Newcastle. The fans are phenomenal, the club could be huge and a big success if run properly.

“You need a world class manager. If Rafa isn't there at the end of the season we would have to rethink this transaction."

Benitez claims he can’t afford to lose any sleep over what is going behind-the-scenes in takeover talk.

He said: “There has been a lot of speculation about the takeover, but officially he (Ashley) told me it was not going to happen. Fair enough, I have no problem.

“So we go through to the transfer window and I gave him the names of the targets. They told me, ‘Give us a list of names’. And we are working on that. It didn’t matter about how much I had to spend. I have given the names and they know the prices of those names. We have to be sure we can get our targets.

“We have to believe we can do what we need to do right up until January 31. We didn’t sign anyone before now. So I have to focus on Manchester City and keep one eye on the transfer window and see what we can do.”

Chelsea’s Brazilian winger Kenedy is still an option on loan, while Liverpool strikers Danny Ings and Daniel Sturridge are two others in the frame. Benitez knows this afternoon’s game will be tough at Pep Guardiola’s league leaders, but he will do what is required to try to get a result.

"My future is Manchester City now, and after Chelsea and then Burnley and Crystal Palace and so on. That is too late, it's Manchester City for now,” said Benitez, when drawn on whether he will stay beyond this month or this season.

“The team has to do what it has to do to get points. It is not a cup competition when you can score an away goal and lose 2-1. We have to try to draw or win. And we will have to defend well because we are playing against the best team in the league.

“We know that Liverpool showed weaknesses at the back but that is nothing to do with us. Liverpool had five players up front who can make a difference. Each team has its own players and its own tactics. But they are not the same as us, Liverpool have five players who can score goals from everywhere. Salah, Salah, Salah, Firmino. It’s totally different.”