Where will Newcastle United look to strengthen this summer - and who are they set to target?

Rafael Benitez is set to hold transfer talks with Mike Ashley in the next couple of weeks, and having invested £55m as he prepared for life in the Championship last summer, the Magpies manager will be seeking an even bigger budget in order to ensure his side is ready for the Premier League.

Where will Benitez be looking to strengthen? And which parts of the current squad are in most urgent need of repair?

GOALKEEPERS

Newcastle United currently have five senior goalkeepers on their books, but it is questionable whether Rafael Benitez will want to start next season with any of them as his number one.

His faith in Karl Darlow was clearly shaken by a couple of recent errors, resulting in the 26-year-old being dropped to the bench despite having played a prominent role in this season’s successful promotion push. Rob Elliot has replaced him, but it is hard to see the Irishman being Benitez’s long-term first choice.

Matz Sels tumbled down the pecking order after his limitations were exposed in the first half of the season, and while Freddie Woodman has done fairly well on loan at Kilmarnock, he is not yet ready for the pressures of the Premier League.

Might Tim Krul come back in from the cold once his loan spell at AZ Alkmaar is at an end? The Dutchman is fit again, but Benitez has been happy to ignore his credentials so far. As a result, he is likely to sell Krul this summer, and make a major investment in a new number one.

Possible targets: Jordan Pickford (Sunderland), Joe Hart (Man City)

DEFENDERS

Jamaal Lascelles and Ciaran Clark have both been key figures in Newcastle’s promotion push, but beyond that, the centre-half cupboard looks relatively bare.

Benitez has been reluctant to play Chancel Mbemba in the Championship, so is unlikely to be any keener on the 22-year-old’s credentials in the Premier League. Grant Hanley was signed to do a job in the second tier, and could well move on to another Championship club this summer.

While Mike Ashley is keen to see a continuation of the policy of signing players under the age of 24, centre-half is the key area where Benitez is likely to stress the need for experience. If Newcastle are going to survive next season, they will have to be a lot more defensively secure than they were when they were relegated.

The full-back positions could also do with some improvement, although they will not be as much of a priority.

Paul Dummett has had a solid season and will feel he deserves a chance to re-establish himself in the Premier League, while on the opposite flank, DeAndre Yedlin should be of top-flight standard. Vurnon Anita’s current contract is coming to an end, but he could be offered a new one in order to provide some cover.

Possible targets: Ryan Shawcross (Stoke), Jozo Simunovic (Celtic), Harry Maguire (Hull), Luca Cardirola (Werder Bremen), Kevin Malcuit (St Etienne)

MIDFIELDERS

Newcastle’s current midfield boasts a number of players who will be key figures next season, but a lack of creative prowess is a key failing that will have to be addressed this summer.

Jonjo Shelvey will continue to be the linchpin of the Magpies midfield next season, and in Jack Colback and Isaac Hayden, Benitez can call on two more players who look capable of contributing in the top-flight.

There is a major issue in the ‘number ten’ position though, as neither Ayoze Perez nor Mo Diame has been particularly convincing this season. Signing a dynamic attacking-midfield player will be one of Benitez’s main priorities once the transfer window reopens, but such a player will not come cheap and the Newcastle boss will have to commit a large proportion of his summer budget to the pursuit.

The wide positions are currently something of a mixed bag. Matt Ritchie has been Newcastle’s most consistent player this season, and has proved himself in the Premier League with Bournemouth. He will be a key performer again next term.

It remains to be seen whether Christian Atsu or Yoan Gouffran remain on the Magpies’ books, though, as the former is at the end of his loan deal, albeit with a clause for a permanent transfer, and the latter is due to become a free agent. Even if they stay, Benitez will be keen to sign someone capable of offering a threat from the wide left.

Possible targets: Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace), Tom Cairney (Fulham), Nicolas Pepe (Angers), Modou Barrow (Swansea), Adama Traore (Middlesbrough)

FORWARDS

Dwight Gayle will finish the season as one of the top four goalscorers in the Championship, but his persistent hamstring problems have to be a concern. If he can stay fit, he should be capable of scoring in the top-flight. Will Benitez feel he can trust him though?

Daryl Murphy has done the job that was asked of him when he signed from Ipswich, but his days as a Premier League striker are surely long gone. Aleksandar Mitrovic is more of an unknown quantity, despite having played in the top-flight during Newcastle’s relegation season, but his performances in the current campaign hardly suggest he is capable of scoring regularly in the top-flight.

Newcastle need to sign a proven goalscorer this summer, and their Premier League fate could well be determined by how well they get on. They have tracked some of Europe’s leading strikers in the past, only to fail to ‘get them over line’.

They cannot afford a similar frustration this summer, and when he sits down with Ashley later this month, Benitez will be stressing the need to spend big on a striker. Having committed more than £23m to the capture of Mitrovic and Gayle in the last two years though, it remains to be seen whether Ashley is willing to spend a similar amount again on a genuinely top-class marksman.

Possible targets: Bas Dost (Sporting Lisbon), Tammy Abraham (Chelsea), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Joshua King (Bournemouth), Martin Braithwaite (Toulouse)