Newcastle United has already started looking ahead to the January transfer window after a summer of major squad turnover under Matthias Jaissle.
The club has added significant depth in several areas, mostly midfield, but questions remain about where further reinforcements may be needed ahead of the second half of the season.
On Monday, The Athletic’s Chris Waugh identified a right winger, a younger center-back and a backup left-back as the three areas Newcastle most urgently needs to address moving
forward. If the club makes additions in January, Waugh expects any incoming business to focus on one or more of those positions.
“A right-winger, a younger centre-back and a backup left-back are the areas of the squad which require most urgent addressing moving forwards,” Waugh wrote.
Any January spending, however, could depend heavily on departures. Waugh reported that Newcastle insiders have indicated midseason expenditure will probably need to be balanced by “an exit or two.” The club still has some room under the Premier League’s squad-cost ratio rules, but not enough to operate without constraints.
“Newcastle have some SCR (the Premier League’s squad-cost ratio) headroom, but not loads,” Waugh wrote.
The club also has a track record of not considering January the ideal window in which to conduct significant transfer business, barring the early-PIF-era arrivals of Bruno Guimaraes and Kieran Trippier. That stance would not prevent Newcastle from acting if a suitable opportunity emerged, but they won’t be mad chasing incoming transfers.
Potential exits and injuries could therefore have a major influence on how aggressive Newcastle becomes midway through the season, with Jacob Murphy, Joelinton and Joe Willock the most-likely canadidates to leave Tyneside to fund other operations.
Which of those three positions should Newcastle address first in January, and which player(s) would you sell to fund an addition? Let us know in the comments.
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