The January transfer window is just around the corner.
We are indeed almost halfway there.
The January transfer window runs until Monday, February 2, 2026, 7:00 PM.
Newcastle United have completed five deals so far, all outbound.
No highlights: Antonito Cordero loaned to Cadiz, Joe Brayson loaned to Morpeth Town and Ben Parkinson sold to Falkirk. Most recently, Harrison Ashby and Joe White both joined Bradford City until the end of the season.
To be honest, none of these five would have been on Eddie Howe’s mind, especially when it came to the first team this season.
Naturally, many Newcastle United fans are frustrated by the fact that no new January transfer window deals have been completed so far for the first team.
Much of what I see and hear from Newcastle fans is, to me, fatally flawed when it comes to what they see as a ‘plan’ for the January transfer window.
There are two main reasons why I think this
The first of these is that fans tend to talk about the desperate need to bring in players to help with the remainder of this season, rather than a longer-term strategy.
The second most important reason is: who exactly are these players, who are the signings that Newcastle United could and should sign this month?
The comments I see most often are along the lines of: ‘We need to bring in some players this month, especially because of the injuries, even if just extra bodies are loaned out.’
As I say, who are these players that Eddie Howe should sign, the online pundits/critics rarely if ever even attempt to address this ‘minor’ issue.
Who are all these great players that other clubs are lining up to offer to other clubs in the middle of the season? Especially on loan?!!!
The reality is that the players other clubs want to let go this month are the ones who can’t get into their squads and are happy to sell or loan them out for significant fees (and wages to be paid).
Brennan Johnson couldn’t get a game for a poor Spurs team and has gone to Palace for around £35 million and high wages, Conor Gallagher a similar transfer fee and even higher wages likely if he joins Spurs, having made just four La Liga starts this season and spent most of them on the bench.
When you take into account the very important detail that Newcastle United these days want to progress in the Champions League AND challenge to finish in the top five of the Premier League to ensure they are back in that competition next season, it simply takes the level of players to a whole other level to have someone join in this month.
Bringing in bodies, anyone, just to sign someone in January is just crazy. Including/mainly on loan.
Reality?
The thing is, I don’t think for a second that Eddie Howe and Newcastle United will have any intention of bringing in any players solely to help with the rest of this season.
Even if you could conjure up a perfect signing to go out on loan, you’ve only got about four months of the season left and to get anyone up to speed on Eddie Howe and the other players, you’re talking about at least a month.
Aston Villa spent fortunes on wages and loan fees to sign Rashford, Disasi and Asensio a year ago, hoping for a short-term improvement in quality. Ultimately, they started just 18 Premier League games together and blew a serious hole in Villa’s finances, with all three being sent back to their parent clubs.
I don’t think it’s impossible that Newcastle United will sign someone in the January transfer window. However, I think it will be largely along the lines of what some of the more credible journalists have suggested and what Eddie Howe has also pointed out.
That if one of the club’s long-term goals becomes available, at the right price, something might happen now.
Along the lines of when Everton desperately had to sell Anthony Gordon in January 2023, in a late and ultimately failed attempt to get back within the PSR limits. Newcastle United took advantage and signed the future England winger for £40m (plus £5m in potential future add-ons), far less than Everton rejected from Chelsea the previous transfer window (£60m+).
Even then, despite significant spending, Anthony Gordon only started three Premier League games as Newcastle United secured top four and Champions League qualification. Gordon was given a fourth PL start in the final game of the season after the top four was secured, scoring his first NUFC goal in a 1–1 draw at Chelsea.
If Newcastle United sign anyone this month, it will be a younger player with his best years ahead of him, rather than a proven, experienced first-choice player currently playing for a top Premier League club.
Any games such a signing would play in January this season would be seen as a bonus, on top of their long-term future that Eddie Howe would have mapped out.
Expensive, short-term quick fixes won’t happen.
We all know the situation at the back, the players are injured. However, now Kieran Trippier is back and Dan Burn is expected to follow him very soon. We also discovered that Lewis Miley’s talents extend beyond midfield.
It’s not ideal to have the quality of Tino, Schar and Burn at the moment, as well as Krafth who will always give everything. However, if you think it would be easy to get the kind of quality needed to play the Champions League and the top five of the Premier League this month, at reasonable value for money, you are just playing fantasy football and none of the numbers (or thoughts) are correct.
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