AYOZE PEREZ has become the first of Newcastle United’s senior players to commit their future to the club despite this season’s relegation to the Championship.

With Rafael Benitez on the verge of agreeing to remain in his position as manager after constructive talks with both Mike Ashley and Lee Charnley in the last three days, Perez has delivered another significant boost by insisting he has no intention of leaving this summer.

The Spaniard signed a new contract in February tying him down to the summer of 2021, but Newcastle’s relegation has led to increased speculation about his future.

Perez was approached by both Barcelona and Real Madrid before agreeing to a €2m move to Tyneside in June 2014, and has been linked with Manchester United and Tottenham during his time at St James’ Park.

There will have to be some big-name departures as the Newcastle hierarchy attempt to plug a £30m hole that has been created by the drop into the Championship, but given that he will not turn 23 until July, Perez is one of the players they will be keenest to keep.

The forward boasts experience of Spain’s Segunda Division, having started his career with Tenerife, and while he is understandably disappointed with the way this season has gone, he claims to be ready to drop down a division in order to help guide Newcastle back to the top-flight.

“I want to be a part of things,” said Perez. “All of us here at Newcastle – we are going to fight like never before to come back to the Premier League. That is our place. We are going to work really hard to make that happen.

“Hopefully, the team will stay together. It has been really good in these last few games, and even though that wasn’t enough, it is something to build from. The feeling we have together is really good. What has happened is disappointing, but we just have to think about coming back now.”

Newcastle’s prospects will be heavily influenced by what happens to Benitez, and having initially indicated he wanted a couple of weeks to decide on his future, senior Magpies sources are now hoping the former Chelsea and Liverpool boss could confirm his willingness to remain in his current position by the weekend.

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Having met Ashley for the first time on Sunday evening, Benitez has also discussed a range of issues with Charnley, and is understood to be happy with the vast majority of what he has heard.

Charnley travelled to Sports Direct’s Shirebrook headquarters yesterday to conduct an end-of-season review with Ashley, with Benitez’s future and next season’s budget at the top of the agenda.

Benitez will effectively be given carte blanche to rebuild the club he has inherited, with Ashley effectively passing control of all transfer matters to the Spanish boss.

That is almost certain to result in the departure of board member and chief scout Graham Carr, whose initial success in signing the likes of Yohan Cabaye, Mathieu Debuchy, Cheick Tiote and Papiss Cisse has been overshadowed by a succession of dreadful buys as Newcastle have blindly pursued a misguided policy of prioritising the purchase of young, unproven players from overseas.

Instead, Benitez is likely to rely on the input of his close ally Owen Brown, who held a number of positions working under the 56-year-old at Liverpool, including roles in recruitment.

Things could still change if Benitez was to receive an alternative offer from a Premier League club or a side in one of Europe’s other leading leagues, but he has already rebuffed approaches from China and Turkey because he does not want to move too far away from his family home on the Wirral.

Everton have been mentioned as a possible option, but there is thought to be no chance of the Merseyside club offering their vacant managerial position to a figure so intrinsically connected to the recent history of their city rivals, Liverpool.

“Sunday just showed you what everyone thinks about Rafa Benitez,” said Perez. “It was amazing – I couldn’t believe what happened.

“After the relegation, it would have been normal for everyone to be very down. But what I saw from the fans was amazing. We have to use that. We have to be together and think about getting back as soon as possible, and keeping the manager would be a big part of that. We all want it to happen.”