Rafa Benitez has positive news for fans on his own Newcastle future

Ashley hopes to sell by the club by Christmas.

A bid worth up to £300million from Amanda Staveley’s PCP Capital Partners has been rejected by the billionaire.

And Ashley is waiting on an improved offer from Staveley.

United manager Benitez has been frustrated by Ashley’s apparent reluctance to invest in his squad in the last two transfer windows.

However, Benitez can see himself staying on even if the club doesn’t change hands.

Asked if he could see himself at Newcastle in a year’s time if Ashley fails to sell the club, Benitez said: “I think so.

“I’m quite happy with this group of players. They’re improving, they’re learning.

“I think so. I don’t see any difficulty now. It’s a challenge now.

“I was disappointed after the summer? Yes. But still this is a chance for me.”

Benitez, speaking ahead of this afternoon’s Premier League home game against Watford, doesn’t expect to have a huge amount to spend in January’s transfer window – even if the club is taken over.

“It still doesn’t change too much, so you have to look for good players and if they’re available and in January that’s difficult,” said Benitez. “The last thing you ask about is the price.

“If we have a change in ownership, we don’t know if we will have money or not, because of Financial Fair Play rules. They don’t allow you to spend too much money.

“We’re just looking for good players – better players than we already have – or to fix positions we need to fix.

“We’re not thinking about how much (money to spend). We have an idea if this player could be cheaper or could be more expensive, but we don’t know, so we have to concentrate on what we can do and that’s preparing the side.”

Benitez added: “I don’t the figures of the club, but I know it’s not that you can say ‘we have £100million’. No chance. What we know is we’ll not have too much money if it’s a new ownership, and if it’s the same one, the figures could be very similar.”