RAFAEL BENITEZ insists he has been ‘frank and fair’ with the unwanted members of his Newcastle United squad, but remains adamant there will be no way back for the players that have been deemed surplus to requirements.

Emmanuel Riviere is set to be the first of Newcastle’s outcasts to leave, with Turkish side Osmanlispor close to completing a deal for the French forward, who has proved a major flop since moving to Tyneside in a £6m move from Monaco in 2014.

Benitez is hoping to move on up to half-a-dozen players in the next few weeks, but Riviere is currently the only player close to completing his departure.

Like the Frenchman, Tim Krul and Achraf Lazaar have also been training with Newcastle’s academy players in the last couple of weeks, having been excluded from the club’s recent pre-season training camp in Ireland.

Neither Krul nor Lazaar featured in the squad for Wednesday’s 4-0 win at Bradford City, and the duo will also not be involved in Saturday’s game at German side Mainz.

Krul is understood to be particularly unhappy with his treatment, having been on Newcastle’s books since the age of 17, but having told the Dutchman he is free to seek alternative employment, Benitez makes no apologies for the way he has conducted himself.

“When you have too many players, what you can do is talk with them straight, and that’s what I did,” said the Newcastle boss, who is also hoping to sell Karl Darlow, Chancel Mbemba, Henri Saivet and Aleksandar Mitrovic this summer. “I told them, 'Listen, we have too many players - my idea is this one’.

“We have to be sure that they understand what we want to do. You cannot be in the Championship or Premier League when you don’t have all the squad, all the players that you want, because we are going a little bit late.

“You have to maximise the time that you have with your players. If someone has to stay at the academy, they have to understand that it’s not personal, it’s professional.”

There was one confirmed departure from Newcastle yesterday, but it was not one that the Magpies were hoping to engineer.

Having turned down the offer of a professional contract at Newcastle’s Benton training ground, 17-year-old defender Lewis Gibson has joined Everton.

Gibson, who was part of the England Under-17 side that reached this summer’s European Championships final, was regarded as the most promising player of his age group in Newcastle’s academy set-up.

The Magpies made a number of attempts to hold on to him, but were ultimately powerless to prevent him moving to Merseyside. Newcastle will be due a compensation payment, which is expected to be around £6m.

“Everton is a brilliant club, and when the opportunity presented itself, I wanted to be part of it,” said Gibson, who hails from Stanley. “The reputation has long been there that Everton brings through young players. You only have to look at the likes of Tom Davies, Kieran Dowell, Jonjo Kenny and several others who are battling for first-team places to know this.”

Having agreed the signing of Mikel Merino on Wednesday, with the Spaniard initially arriving on a season-long loan, Newcastle are also hopeful of pushing through a deal for Benifca midfielder Andreas Samaris.

The Magpies have held a number of discussions about the Greek international this summer, and are understood to be closing in on a deal worth around £13m.

Benfica had initially been demanding more than £18m for the 28-year-old, but Newcastle officials have spent the last couple of weeks attempting to drive down the price.

Sources in Portugal claim their efforts have been successful, with the Magpies prepared to double Samaris’ current wage agreement over the course of a three-year deal.

Newcastle are also monitoring Adrian’s position at West Ham, with Benitez still keen to sign another goalkeeper.

Adrian has slipped behind Joe Hart in West Ham’s goalkeeping pecking order, and while Darren Randolph’s recent move to Middlesbrough makes Hammers boss Slaven Bilic reluctant to sell the 30-year-old, he could struggle to hold on to him unless he can offer a genuine prospect of regular first-team football.