RAFAEL BENITEZ admits it is “not ideal” that Newcastle United find themselves scrambling to make signings in the final three days of the transfer window, but the Magpies manager remains hopeful he will have a new striker and goalkeeper by Wednesday night.

Newcastle crashed out of the FA Cup this afternoon as Michy Batshuayi’s double and a superb second-half free-kick from Marcos Alonso secured Chelsea a 3-0 win at Stamford Bridge, and as well as being disappointed at his side’s latest cup exit, Benitez is also growing increasingly alarmed at a lack of transfer activity.

The transfer window will close at 11pm on Wednesday evening, and the loan signing of Chelsea wing-back Kenedy remains the Magpies’ only completed piece of transfer business.

Benitez’s key priority is to recruit a new striker, but the weekend passed without Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley tabling an improved offer for Feyenoord striker Nicolai Jorgensen.

Feyenoord officials are adamant they want at least €25m before they will even consider allowing Jorgensen to leave, but Newcastle’s two offers for the Denmark international have gone no higher than £15m, with Mike Ashley seemingly reluctant to break his club’s long-standing transfer record, which has stood since Michael Owen arrived for £16m in 2005.

Jorgensen played in the opening 83 minutes of Feyenoord’s 3-1 win over Den Haag this afternoon – he was replaced by Robin van Persie in the closing stages – with his manager, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, insisting the 27-year-old remains a key part of his plans.

Feyenoord return to action on Wednesday with a KNVB Cup quarter-final against PSV Eindhoven, and van Bronckhorst is adamant he will not allow anyone to leave on the day of such an important game. As a result, if Newcastle are to sign Jorgensen, they will have to have an offer accepted in the next 48 hours.

“That (what will happen to Jorgensen) is difficult to estimate,” said van Bronckhorst, in the aftermath of yesterday’s game. “We will have to wait and see in the coming days.”

Newcastle have also been linked with a possible £17.5m deal for Brazilian Luan, and Magpies officials are understood to have been offered the chance to sign the 24-year-old from Gremio.

Liverpool have also expressed a possible interest in Luan, who boasts two senior international caps with Brazil, but it would not be easy for either English club to pull off a deal so late in the transfer window.

Ashley has previously been reluctant to switch targets two or three days before a transfer deadline, and a deal for Luan looks extremely unlikely. Similarly, while Newcastle continue to be linked with Watford’s Troy Deeney, there would appear to be very little chance of the Hornets agreeing to either sell or loan their captain to a relegation rival.

Time is running out, and while Benitez continues to insist it is imperative that Newcastle add to their attacking ranks before Wednesday evening, he admits it is far from ideal to be scrambling around at such a late stage of the window. Even if a deal was to be agreed in the next three days, Benitez will now almost certainly be unable to field a new striker in Wednesday’s crucial Premier League home game with Burnley.

“I think we will have chances (to make signings),” said the Newcastle boss. “Obviously it is not ideal because I wanted to do my business by January 15 or 20, but still we have days and I have the belief that maybe we can do something - and maybe it will be right.

“We are trying to do business. Still we will see as we have time, and hopefully we can do something. Until the 31st, I have to give my confidence. I don't think that if we do anything they will have enough time to do anything in this game (against Burnley). At least we will try to do something.”

Benitez’s existing contract is due to expire in the summer of 2019, and the Spaniard is unwilling to enter into talks over a new contract until Ashley and Charnley have confirmed the extent of their ambition by completing some additional signings.

“I think our fans are very clever,” he added, when pressed about transfer matters. “They know what is going on and I want to make sure I don’t let them down so I want to keep going because I am a professional and I want to do well.

“I am happy in the city, with the fans and I can see the potential of the club, but we have to be sure that everyone has the same message, the same ideas, and that we are all on the same page.

“We have to keep working hard. I will keep working as hard, I am working now with all my staff and all my players to improve the team.”

Benitez was satisfied with his side’s performance in the opening half-an-hour of today’s game, when they restricted Chelsea to a handful of chances, but conceded the reigning Premier League champions’ class had told in the end.

“When you have to play against Chelsea away, normally you know that the difference between the top six and the other teams it is really, really difficult,” he said. “We tried, we played really, really well in the first half in my opinion, trying to do what we needed to do to put them under pressure, then afterwards the difference in quality in some situations was key.”