RAFAEL BENITEZ will not shift the focus from keeping Newcastle United in the Premier League – until the threat of falling back down to the Championship has completely gone.

The Magpies are already being linked with plenty of potential targets for the summer and Benitez has his scouting network keeping tabs on a variety of players.

But Benitez is only thinking about close-season targets tentatively at this stage, believing he can’t afford for his in-form players to let their guard down.

The Spaniard has a 40-point target in mind and that remains the case with seven matches remaining even though Newcastle hold a seven-point gap over the relegation zone.

After just one defeat from their last seven matches, Benitez is desperate for his team to continue in the sort of form that has put them within touching distance of preserving top-flight status. They head to Leicester City this Saturday.

Mike Ashley’s unsuccessful attempt to sell the club before and after Christmas led to a frustrating January transfer window but Benitez has managed to steer Newcastle in the right direction.

He will be seeking investment from the club’s owner at the end of the season, with the intention of leading Newcastle closer to the top six next season rather than worrying about what is happening below them.

Benitez is considering paying the £4m release clause to Sparta Prague for goalkeeper Martin Dubravka after an impressive start to life on Tyneside, while Gent’s Nigerian winger Moses Simon is known to have been watched by Newcastle representatives.

The Simon interest emerged after a week when reports in Turkey have consistently suggested that Besiktas midfielder Oguzhan Ozyakup, also wanted by Everton, is on the radar. He will be a free agent at the end of the season.

Benitez has put talk of players moving on on the back burner too. Athletic Bilbao are maintaining an interest in midfielder Mikel Merino after constant suggestions he is unsettled.

The former Borussia Dortmund man only completed a permanent move to Tyneside in October for £8m after an impressive start. He has since found it much harder to get in the team ahead of Mo Diame and Jonjo Shelvey.