Rafael Benitez is hoping to push through his 12th summer signing in the next 48 hours as Newcastle close in on a loan deal for Chelsea midfielder Christian Atsu.

It is understood the Magpies are in talks with both the club and the player and hope to bring the 24-year-old Ghana international to St James’ Park for the remainder of the season.

Atsu joined the Blues in a £3.5million switch from Porto in September 2013 but is yet to make a senior appearance for the club and has been loaned out to Vitesse Arnhem, Everton, Bournemouth and Malaga since his arrival.

A successful completion of the discussions would cap an eventful few days for Newcastle, who defeated fellow Sky Bet Championship promotion hopefuls Brighton 2-0 on Saturday evening and then pushed through deals for Ipswich striker Daryl Murphy and Palermo’s Morocco international full-back Achraf Lazaar.

However, sources on Tyneside have played down speculation that the Magpies also have their eye on unsettled Everton midfielder James McCarthy.

The £20million-rated Republic of Ireland international appears to be surplus to requirements at Goodison Park since the arrival of new manager Ronald Koeman and has been linked with a series of potential suitors in recent days.

However, club insiders have insisted McCarthy is not on Newcastle’s radar as his current employers wait to discover the extent of a groin injury which prevented him from taking part in Saturday’s 1-0 home win over Stoke.