It’s been claimed by The Chronicle that Newcastle’s approach to the January transfer window will be “careful and considered” and we won’t see as much of an influx of new faces as we did last year when the need for reinforcements was far greater.
I don’t think anybody is realistically expecting Newcastle to go wild in the transfer window, save for one or maybe two incoming players. It’s more likely we will see more players exit the club this time around.
The truth of the matter is, we’re not wanting for any position as desperately as we were previously. Eddie Howe and his team have recruited very well since they took the reigns and that’s shown by how well the lads are doing and by the league position.
Of course, there’s always room for improvement, and we are still a couple of players away from greatness, but there’s no rush, especially when you consider how far ahead of schedule the club is. We’re already occupying a Champions League spot, and while there’s still a lot of football to be played this season, Newcastle look good for that position so far. The objective laid out by Amanda Staveley when she first came into the club had us challenging for a Champions League spot in around five years, and here we are just over a year later, already in the mix.
On the flip side, with us being so close already, there’s the thinking that Staveley and the PIF might want to throw money at it to seal that Champions League spot early knowing that, with all of the new commercial partnerships and the revenue generated from European football, that the club will avoid any complications with FFP quite easily.
The Chronicle does mention James Maddison as the top target in January, something I firmly agree with and as I’ve said before if that’s the only incoming business we do, I’ll be happy. They also mention a young right-back to come in and learn from Kieran Trippier to take over his role in the future, and for that, I’d absolutely love Denzel Dumfries, but that’s not a name I’ve seen linked with us outside of my own imagination.
Whatever happens, I have full faith in Eddie Howe, Dan Ashworth and the rest of the team that they’ll make the right calls.