NEWCASTLE UNITED are ready to table a fresh £5m offer for Blackburn’s Grant Hanley after Rafael Benitez confirmed he was in for the defender.

On the day the Magpies confirmed more than 33,000 season tickets have been sold ahead of next season’s first year outside the Premier League – surpassing what they had in the top-flight - Benitez admitted the recruitment drive is still underway.

The Newcastle boss has already signed Dwight Gayle, Matt Ritchie, Matz Sels, Jesus Gamez and Isaac Hayden but he has not finished, with a couple of new centre-backs on the agenda.

Hanley, 24, is within reach, but Newcastle have only offered £4.5m, short of the £6m valuation at Ewood Park.

However, with reports suggesting the defender could hand in a transfer request, Newcastle are ready to offer a little more with add-ons.

That could be enough to get the deal done, with Newcastle due to fly back to England after today's friendly with Bohemians and the manager would like Hanley as part of the squad before they head for Belgium to face Lokeren next week.

Benitez said: “It is something (Hanley deal) that I am aware of as I am talking every day with Lee Charnley (the managing director). He’s in charge of the signings and business.

“I think the market was quite slow but now things are starting to move. We are trying to do what we want to do as soon as possible.”

The five new players that have arrived will be playing in front of full-houses – or close to - at St James’ Park, even though they are in the Championship.

There is still another month remaining to buy a season ticket before the visit of Huddersfield on August 13, and an expectation that the 33,000 figure will continue to grow.

Benitez, who has also arranged for an Open Day from 9am at St James’ on Monday, August 1, said: “It shows how good our fans are. They are supporting the team. Hopefully, we can give them something on the pitch.”

Two players he will hope to have available by then are Siem de Jong and Kevin Mbabu. Both have returned early from the Ireland training camp after picking up respective hamstring and thigh problems; slight knocks rather than anything serious.

But Benitez does hope to hand a first start to summer signing Hayden against Bohemians. The £2.5m midfielder is keen to make his mark in first team football next season after accepting he would struggle to break into Arsenal’s plans.

The 21-year-old, speaking in Ireland, said: “Training with players like Mesut Ozil, Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere will only help you – it won’t hinder you. I’ve got a lot to thank Arsenal for, I was there for eight years.

“It was a good time but it’s the time to move on, this is the right place. For me there was no chance for me at Arsenal. There are too many midfielders there and even players like Jack Wilshere might not get a game next season.

“So for me I had to move on to progress my career. As soon as the manager here spoke to me I knew it was the right place to come to get to my potential.”

A limited number of seats have become available in the stadium’s Family Area, offering a season ticket from £329 for adults and £68 for juniors.

Entry to the area is based on a ratio of two adults to one child. Juniors up to the age of 18 can be unlimited, but under-13s must be accompanied by an adult.

Newcastle are opening St James' Park up to watch Benitez put his players through their paces in a training season on Monday, August 1. The free event will feature access to a range of fun activities around the ground too. Last year’s event proved popular, attracting around 14,000 supporters. The club will announce a full schedule soon with activities expected to stretch from 9am into the early afternoon.