NEWCASTLE UNITED will have to outflank their former manager, Alan Pardew, if they are to sign Liverpool striker Danny Ings on loan next month.

With takeover discussions between Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners group and Magpies owner Mike Ashley having hit an impasse, Benitez is trying to pull together a plan for the January transfer window that does not require a large amount of funds.

If a deal to sell the club is not completed in the next few weeks, the Newcastle boss does not expect to have significant sums at his disposal as he looks to strengthen a squad that has been creaking at the seams in the last month or so.

However, whatever happens between now and January 1, he is determined to make at least a couple of additions, with centre-forward and left-back having been identified as priority positions.

He will have to pay close attention to the loan market, with Ings having been on his radar throughout the first half of the season.

The England international has not made a single senior start since October 2015, and his only senior involvement this season came courtesy of a 17-minute substitute appearance in Liverpool’s EFL Cup defeat to Leicester City.

He does not feature in Jurgen Klopp’s first-team plans, and the Liverpool boss is keen to loan him out in the second half of the season in order to give him some first-team football and potentially put him in the shop window for a permanent sale in the summer.

Benitez would love to sign the 25-year-old, and would consider him for a starting spot if he could prove his fitness given that Joselu, Dwight Gayle and Aleksandar Mitrovic have all struggled to make much of an impact in the first half of the campaign.

However, he faces competition from a number of Premier League clubs, with Pardew having told West Brom officials he would like to make Ings one of his leading targets once the transfer window reopens.

Pardew tried to sign Ings for Newcastle in the summer of 2014, only for the forward to opt to remain with Burnley for the final 12 months of his contract at Turf Moor. He subsequently made a free transfer to Liverpool the following summer.

Pardew remains an admirer of Ings’ qualities, and feels attacking reinforcements will be the key to ensuring West Brom are not drawn into a protracted relegation battle in the second half of the season.

As well as looking to sign a striker, Benitez would also like to recruit a new left-back next month, with Luke Shaw having long been regarded as a potential loan target.

The England international has fallen out favour under Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho, although he performed reasonably impressively in Tuesday’s Champions League win over CSKA Moscow and there are suggestions Mourinho could opt to keep him at Old Trafford to ensure he has sufficient cover in the second half of the season.

Meanwhile, Newcastle have confirmed their FA Cup third-round tie with League Two side Luton Town will take place on Saturday, January 6 (3pm).