RAFAEL BENITEZ expects Jamie Sterry and Rolando Aarons to leave Tyneside before the end of the month, but has ruled out any prospect of Ciaran Clark or Isaac Hayden heading elsewhere.

Sterry and Aarons have been offered around clubs in the Championship, with Benitez feeling a loan move will be more beneficial to their career than an extended spell in Newcastle’s Under-23 set-up.

However, while both Clark and Hayden have been linked with possible departures in the next few days, Benitez is adamant there is no chance of either of them moving on in the current window for overseas transfers and Football League loans.

Clark started last weekend’s opening-day defeat to Tottenham, deputising for long-term absentee Florian Lejeune, while Hayden remains an important part of Newcastle’s midfield mix despite having submitted a transfer request earlier this summer in an attempt to engineer a move closer to his family.

“The senior players who are in the team or in the squad, they cannot go and that’s it,” said Benitez, ahead of today’s televised game at Cardiff City. “They have to keep on working hard, which they’re doing already, and they know. There are all these links about Hayden and Clark, but there’s no chance (of them leaving).

“Rolando is one of the young players, and Sterry is another, who we can allow to go on loan because they need minutes. They need to play.

“Rolando is more of a winger and we can manage the situation at left full-back with the other players we have here - Clark or with Kenedy. Still we have (Christian) Atsu, (Jacob) Murphy and (Matt) Ritchie, so we have some wingers. We don’t have another specialist left-back, but we can manage the situation.”

Hayden’s personal situation remains delicate, with the midfielder having expressed a clear desire to move closer to his partner and baby, who are based in the South-West.

Benitez ruled out an exit at an early stage of the summer window, and while he will continue to work with Hayden to try to help him deal with his situation, he expects the 23-year-old to adopt a professional approach.

“I have been talking to him and I will try to help as much as I can, but he has to stay and he has to fight for his position,” said the Magpies boss. “He’s an important player for us.

“I’ve had this conversation with him before, maybe one month ago or even more, and we decided that he will stay. Is he okay with that? No, not really, at the moment he is still thinking that, ‘For me and my family it will be better to go’.

“But we are professionals and we have to do what we have to do at the moment and facilitate the situation as much as we can.”

Henri Saivet and Achraf Lazaar should complete loan departures in the next few days, with the former having agreed terms with Turkish side Bursaspor and the latter involved in discussions with Italian club Genoa.

“At the moment, Saivet and Lazaar are trying to find solutions,” confirmed Benitez. “Lazaar is in Genoa at the moment, in Italy trying to do a deal. It is very close. I don’t have the details of the deals, but they are talking.”

Meanwhile, Newcastle’s Carabao Cup second-round game at Nottingham Forest has been selected for live coverage on Sky. The game at the City Ground will take place on Wednesday, August 29.