RAFA BENITEZ faces a wait for Japanese striker Yoshinori Muto to be handed a work permit before he completes a £9.5m move from the Bundesliga, as the Newcastle United manager hopes of further progress.

The Mainz front-man is set to become the Magpies’ fifth signing of the summer after an agreement was reached between the two clubs, and Benitez would ideally bring in further additions before the transfer window closes in less than two weeks.

There will be no timescale on the work permit situation, although Newcastle could face a battle to get approval initially as he has not played 75 per cent of the recent international games. He has only played six times in the last two years.

Newcastle brought in Fabian Schar on Thursday from Deportivo La Coruna in a £3.5m deal, he followed Martin Dubravka, Kenedy and Ki Sung-yueng to St James’ Park this summer.

Benitez would ideally like more and hopes he will secure further signings once he has moved players on knowing about Mike Ashley’s sell before you buy policy.

Newcastle midfielder Jonjo Shelvey knows that new additions can boost a team ahead of a new season starting, but he also thinks the players who helped secure tenth spot last season deserve a chance to contribute to trying to improve again.

Shelvey said: “I feel we’ve added some quality with Ki coming in, Martin’s signed and we’ve got Kenedy back. They’re going to be three important players next year but I feel the lads that are here probably deserve another crack at the Premier League because of how well we did last season, especially towards the back end of it.

“You could see the impact Martin had from his first game and Kenedy speaks for himself. He’s so strong and powerful on the left but he’s got that skill and that know-how that he knows how to win games.”

Ki has impressed in recent years at Swansea and during his one year loan at Sunderland. The Black Cats would have liked him back but were not willing to pay the price-tag placed on his shoulders.

Newcastle have managed to land him as a free agent, in the same summer they brought in £13m by offloading Mikel Merino to Real Sociedad, which seems good business with the exception of a six year age difference.

Shelvey is looking forward to playing with the South Korean. He said: “Ki’s very neat and tidy on the ball, he’s a great lad, he’s quite a quiet and shy boy but ever since he’s come in he’s fitted nicely into the group. That’s what you want from a new player, for him to get up and running quickly. He knows how to play in the Premier League so he’s not one of them who’s going to need time.”

The length of time it has taken Newcastle to bring in a decent number of players this summer was not ideal, nor has the uncertainty surrounding Benitez’s future.  Benitez has entered the final 12 months of his contract and will not commit to a new long term deal until he believes Ashley shares his ambition. Shelvey, though, has tried not to think about it.

He said: “As a professional footballer I don’t think you can get involved in that stuff off the pitch. You have to leave that down to the people higher up. 

“The gaffer knows what he’s doing, he’s been there, done that and got the T-shirt. We’re obviously all behind him and behind the club as a whole.

“You hear what the fans are saying and what they want and hopefully the owner will produce that but if not we have to stick together and fight to try and do what we did last season.

“There are still a lot of things going on at the football club that we don’t know about but for me personally I feel I’m doing all right. I’ve worked hard during the summer to keep my head and keep training well so I can keep putting it in during the games.”

The Newcastle squad have flown to Portugal for the next stage of pre-season building up towards the visit of Tottenham on August 9. 

He said: “I think all we need to do is stick together in and around the group. It’s a very, very young team and we’re inexperienced in terms of Premier League games and stuff like that but I think the main message that we need to send round to the fans and the players is that we need to stick together and fight as one.”