Rafa Benitez has suggested he is trying to work around Mo Diame's contract wrangle with Newcastle United.
The midfielder has revealed his request for a two-year extension has been turned down and that players over 30 find it difficult to gain new deals with the current hierarchy.
Diame needs two starts to trigger a one-year extension but has been restricted to appearances from the bench.
When asked about Diame's bizarre situation , Benitez said: "It has not been an issue.
"You can see if I need to use him, I can use him.
"I will not be too worried about that.
"We need to be sure we put on the pitch players that can win, that is it."
Diame had said: "I spoke with the club, and when we were talking about my contract, I asked for two years, and they don’t want that.
"Because we know what they want for this club; it’s difficult to get an extension when you are over 30 here."
Benitez will be forced into a rethink for the trip to Brighton with Miguel Almiron set to miss the game with a hamstring problem.
That could see Yoshinori Muto get his chance on the South Coast while it also opens the door for Jonjo Shelvey if there is a reshuffle in the Toon manager's formation.
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