RAFA BENITEZ is no nearer to signing a new contract at Newcastle United after heading into the final week of the summer transfer window completely frustrated with a lack of progress.

The Spaniard, who only has less than 12 months remaining on his deal, remains at a stand-off with the club’s owner Mike Ashley over his deal - and fans fear he could walk.

Benitez has made it clear again of how unhappy he is with things at Newcastle, where Ashley has refused to back him to the level he would have liked in the market.

Now the Newcastle boss fears that he will not get what he wants in the remaining week of the window either, despite hearing that reports in Belgium claim a fee has been agreed of around £5.3m for Anderlecht’s giant striker Isaac Kiese-Thelin.

Newcastle have only managed to sign Ki Sung-yueng (free) and Fabian Schar (£3.5m) so far as players who were not around last season. They are waiting for a work permit to complete the £9.5m purchase of Mainz striker Yoshinori Muto too.

Benitez has turned Martin Dubravka’s loan deal into a permanent arrangement and taken Kenedy back from Chelsea on a season-long loan, but those deals are certainly not the extent of what he had in mind.

West Brom’s Salomon Rondon was a target throughout the summer. He has seen a potential swap deal involving Dwight Gayle stall because of the latter’s failure to agree personal terms.

Newcastle could have had Rondon since the end of last season for a £16.5m release clause fee in his contract, but Ashley has been reluctant to match it.

Benitez, who saw his Newcastle side thumped 4-0 at Braga in Portugal on Wednesday, has made his feelings known.

Benitez said: "I said what I had to say on transfers two months ago, we'll see what the next ten days bring. I have no idea - I have no idea how close we are to anyone.

"Now is not a time to talk about Rondon or Gayle, it's a time to analyse what's gone on these last two months.

"I said two months ago what we needed, and ten days before the start of season we have four or five players we thought we could bring but we haven't - and we still are where we are."

Kiese-Thelin could prove a valuable addition but it is a surprise to see Newcastle turn to him.

He has struggled to hold down a place at Anderlecht but did impress duringa loan last season at Beveren when he scored 19 goals in 39 games. The Swedish striker is believed to be valued at around £6m.

Newcastle were completely over run in the second half against Braga on Wednesday night, which left fans and players equally frustrated. Ashley is coming under more fire from supporters, which has become something of the norm on Tyneside.

The performance against Braga saw both Gayle and the unsettled Isaac Hayden both play.

He added: "Braga was a bad game for us, we're not doing well on the pitch or off it. It's concerning with the season ten days away. That should be a wake-up call for everyone (at the club). If we don't improve everything we will suffer. The only positive was the attitude of the young players.”

Newcastle head into Saturday’s final friendly with Augsburg with too many distractions, and Benitez knows it – and he even repeated his negativity on the club’s own media channel after watching two defeats in a row in Portugal.

“Yes, obviously we know it is important for us to improve, especially in front of your fans you want to do well on Saturday,” he said.

“But the main thing is that we are doing a lot of things wrong, that is the reason why we lose these kind of games.

“The Premier League is quite a bit stronger than friendlies and we have 10 days to improve everything.”

And to make matters worse, Newcastle’s players in Portugal refused to speak to the media after the defeat to Braga and it is believed to have been due to a dispute of their own with Ashley.

It is understood and ongoing wrangle over bonus incentives for the forthcoming season has left them frustrated too, so they decided not to face the media on tour.