NEWCASTLE UNITED are set to table a £10m ‘take-it-or-leave-it’ offer for Jacob Murphy, with managing director Lee Charnley adamant he will not be drawn into a protracted bidding war for the Norwich City winger.

Newcastle’s initial offer of £8m was rejected at the start of the week, but Rafael Benitez remains determined to land Murphy, who is yet to return to pre-season training following his involvement at the recent European Under-21 Championships.

Norwich City are understood to have placed a £16m price tag on Murphy’s head, but Newcastle’s recruitment team regard that as too high a price for a 22-year-old who has never kicked a ball in the Premier League.

They are willing to increase their initial offer slightly, and are set to offer £10m with a caveat that they will not be making a third bid if their interest is rebuffed again.

Their £10m offer will not, however, be dependent on a series of clauses, with the entire fee being guaranteed at the outset. Charnley will also follow his previous policy of paying the entirety of the transfer fee up front if it will help persuade Norwich to do business.

New Norwich boss Daniel Farke has accepted that Murphy is unlikely to be part of his squad next season, but with a month-and-a-half of the transfer window still to go, the Norwich board are in no rush to agree to a deal that does not meet their expectations.

Significantly, however, sources close to the deal claim Murphy is keen to move on and test himself in the Premier League, and the Canaries may decide it is not in their interests to retain a player whose mind is elsewhere.

Benitez remains determined to make at least four more signings this summer, with Bordeaux striker Diego Rolan the latest player to have come onto his radar.

Rolan was in London on Tuesday discussing a potential £8.8m move from Bordeaux to Fulham, but returned to France without a deal being agreed.

That has alerted Benitez to the potential of hijacking the deal, with Rolan, a 24-year-old Uruguay international, having scored 33 goals during his time in Ligue 1.

Newcastle, who saw former target Ruben Loftus-Cheek join Crystal Palace on a season-long loan yesterday, could be set to lose one of their current attackers in the next few days, with Metz lining up a cut-price move for Emmanuel Riviere.

Riviere, who spent last season on loan at Osasuna, has suffered a miserable three seasons since completing a £6m move from Monaco in the summer of 2014.

His 31 senior appearances for Newcastle brought just three goals – two of which came in the same League Cup game at Crystal Palace – and with just one year of his current contract remaining, Metz are hoping to sign him permanently for a negligible fee.

Newcastle play their opening pre-season game at Hearts tomorrow, with Benitez set to give the majority of his squad a 45-minute run-out.