NEWCASTLE UNITED will make Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney one of their leading transfer priorities if they secure a place in the Premier League in the final two months of the season.

Rafael Benitez is determined to take nothing for granted with eight games of the Championship still to go, with his public pronouncements highlighting the importance of focusing on the task in hand rather than looking towards the future.

However, behind the scenes, the Magpies manager has been working with the club’s recruitment department for the last couple of months to firm up a list of potential targets in the event of promotion.

Benitez accepts the need to strengthen in a number of different areas, but central midfield will be a key priority after Newcastle failed to sign anyone in that role in the January transfer window despite pursuing a number of targets.

Cairney was one of the players targeted at the turn of the year, and the 26-year-old continues to top Newcastle’s wanted list after producing a series of eye-catching displays this season.

Two of his best performances came against the Magpies, with Cairney controlling the midfield as Fulham won at Craven Cottage on the opening weekend of the season and producing an even better performance as the Cottagers romped to a 3-1 win at St James’ Park at the start of this month.

Cairney opened the scoring on Tyneside, and Newcastle’s scouting team are convinced he will be able to handle the step up to the Premier League without too much trouble.

Back in January, the Newcastle hierarchy made a formal approach to their counterparts at Fulham, only to be told Cairney would not be leaving Craven Cottage for less than £20m.

At the time, that figure was deemed too high, but things could be different in the summer, with promotion set to be worth a guaranteed £100m to the Magpies.

Having held on to Cairney in January in the hope of winning promotion themselves, Fulham would be much more willing to part with the Scotland international in the summer if they fail to make the Premier League via the play-offs in May.

Cairney has two more years of his current deal to run, but while there is an option of a further 12 months written into his contract, Fulham could be tempted to cash in while the midfielder is attracting interest from a number of quarters.

Crystal Palace and West Ham have been linked with Cairney in recent weeks, and Newcastle would not have things their own way if they were to rekindle their interest at the end of the season.

However, Benitez will be hoping his previous advances persuade Cairney that he rates him highly, and the Magpies manager remains keen to add the former Blackburn play-maker to a central-midfield unit that features Jonjo Shelvey, Jack Colback and Isaac Hayden in a deep-lying position and Mo Diame and Ayoze Perez further up the field.

Diame announced his international retirement earlier this month, stating he had done all he could for Senegal.

The 29-year-old had been restricted to the substitutes’ bench on a number of occasions in the last couple of years, but Senegal coach Aliou Cisse feels he has retired prematurely.

“I’m completely surprised because everybody knows I have a good relationship with Diame,” said Cisse. “Clearly, it’s a personal decision, but one I disagree with because he’s still young – a good player and his country needs him.

“He could still give so much as he had a lot of years left in him. But he’s taken his decision and I have to respect that.”