RAFAEL BENITEZ thinks the arrival of Jacob Murphy highlights exactly the type of player Newcastle United should be looking to sign as he gears up for Premier League football at St James’ Park.

Murphy has been putting the finishing touches to his £12.5m move from Norwich City in Dublin, at the same time as Javier Manquillo has been going through his medical to join him in the Magpies ranks.

The move for Manquillo came more as a surprise, with Benitez swooping for the Atletico Madrid right-back and offering him a three-year deal.

The 27-year-old struggled to make an impact during his loan at Sunderland last season; a disastrous campaign which saw the Black Cats drop out of the Premier League in abysmal fashion.

But Manquillo, the former Liverpool defender, has been handed a fresh chance of succeeding in the English top-flight by being offered a permanent switch to Tyneside by Benitez.

He follows Florian Lejeune, Christian Atsu and Murphy in moving to Newcastle and the latter is the deal that has taken the most doing so far.

Benitez still wants to add more in the days and weeks ahead and remains confident Mike Ashley, the club’s owner, will deliver them for him and he knows the type of characters and players he wants in his squad.

Murphy is 22 and possesses bags of potential, but crucially he was also desperate to move to Tyneside and play for Newcastle and that is something Benitez feels got lost on the club before his arrival.

Benitez said: “I’m happier (to get Murphy deal done). Our market has to be what we need, but sometimes we can’t afford players because sometimes the market is crazy.

“Murphy is a young player with mobility and hunger. He wanted to come here and we want players who want to come and play for our club.”

The Newcastle manager found last summer that players were keen to move to Newcastle and play under him – and he is seeing signs again that that is the case. The problem, though, has tended to be the prices being demanded for players.

Norwich had looked for £16m for Murphy, Newcastle had only offered £8m and then £10m, so a deal was proving problematic. However, a transfer was agreed in the end because of the player’s desire to move and add-ons worth a further £2.5m.

Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles feels they have landed an attacking gem. He said: “He is definitely what we need, he has a lot of flair. I played against him a few times, he seems like a really nice guy and I am looking forward to see what he is like at training.”

Even though Newcastle are on the verge of adding Manquillo and Murphy to the squad, Benitez is keen to ensure the spending continues.

He does not think his squad is capable of challenging for a mid-table position and in an ideal world he would like to have an even greater push for a top ten spot.

He still has a number of targets, although he seems set to lose out to Manchester City in the battle for Pepe Reina’s signature. The former Liverpool goalkeeper had been targeted and it seemed he would be staying at Napoli, only for City to make a move.

Benitez’s links to La Liga have also led to contact with Real Betis for Denmark left-back Riza Durmesi. He has 15 caps for his country and only moved to Betis last summer after moving from Brondby for £1.7m.

Twelve months on and the five-year contract he signed with the Spanish club means there is a buy-out clause of just under £18m, with reports in Spain suggesting Newcastle have discussed a £10m offer.

There has also been fresh talk that Newcastle are preparing an offer for Bordeaux striker Diego Rolan amid strengthened interest from Fulham in his services. The 24-year-old Uruguayan has scored 37 times in 138 appearances.

And Benitez is convinced he can get more deals done, despite being frustrated with how long it has taken for new players to be added to his squad.

He said: “When I had the meeting with Mike Ashley I was confident that we have the money available and the wages.

“Everything is in place to move forward. Hopefully Mike can keep his word and we can do what we want to do.”