Newcastle United are willing to hand Rafa Benitez a one-year bridging deal.

The Mirror says they will consider handing Benitez a one-year deal as a quick fix to their contract stand-off.

The Spaniard is in talks to extend his current deal, which ends in June.

Ideally, the club wants Benitez to sign up for a longer period, so that any players he buys are more settled, and not worried about getting discarded by a successor.

But time is short and the 59-year-old could be tempted by a one-year extension that would allow him to test whether the club live up to their promise of at least £100million investment in new players over the next two seasons.