Rafael Benitez to ditch Jack Colback?

Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez is reportedly planning a surprise move to leave midfielder Jack Colback out of the club's 25-man squad for the Premier League.

The 27-year-old has been at St James' Park since a controversial switch from Sunderland in 2014 and stayed with their club following their relegation to the Championship in 2015-16.

According to the Shields Gazette, however, Benitez has decided that Colback must be sold in order to usher in new arrivals and is keen to offload him before the transfer window shuts at the end of the month.

Colback, who has two years remaining on his current deal with the Magpies, is likely to attract interest from a number of Championship sides, although his wages - thought to be around £35,000 a week - could prove prohibitive in any deal.

Benitez has reportedly been informed that he must offload players before he can make any further additions this summer.

Tim Krul, Achraf Lazaar and Emmanuel Riviere have already been told that they are not part of Benitez's future plans and have been made to train with the academy while they find new clubs.