Newcastle’s January conundrum

Newcastle United play another eight games before the turn of the year and must pick up a significant number of points in them if they are to banish the memories of an indifferent opening 12 games of the 2024/25 Premier League season.

Minds and (hopefully) focus will then turn to the opening of the winter transfer window and the potential for the squad to be strengthened. Considering no first team players have come in for the last 18 months, one, hopefully (there’s that word again) two will get over the proverbial line and give the team the ability and quality to push on in the new year.

Putting cups games aside (and we hope there are many), United will have 19 games to shape it’s Premier League destiny with a newly assembled squad as it is high time the gaffer is backed, and we can finally see if he can land on his strongest first team and push us onto the next step. There are still doubts in some quarters about his ability to achieve this, and results like Monday night certainly do not help, but he simply must get the team into a European position if the squad is to stay together and, you would think, he is to keep his job.

January is a notorious window to do business in, although it was us who proved just how value and transformative it can be in 2021/22 when the signings of Trippier, Burn, Targett, and Bruno changed the trajectory of the entire club in 30 days of long nights and short days in the month of Blue Monday and post-holiday season malady.

They must invest in the squad to provide a mid-season boost, and a starting would RW or CB is surely going to come through the door to energise the players, the manager and the fans. But, if how close United are up against PSR rules is to be believed, investing will leave the club open to a repeat of June 2024 if we can’t make sales. And therein lies the issue; the only saleable assets the squad has, the club don’t want to sell.

Sky Sports say Antoine Semenyo is wanted but a sale is needed to sign the Bournemouth winger, while ‘dream target’ Bryan Mbeumo may also be out of our reach without sales. But who goes to make room for such a signing?

Isak, Botman, Bruno, Gordon, Joelinton, and Tonali would all command decent fees but selling one mid-season would not be a good look especially if they’re not replaced. Almiron is an obvious one to sell, but will the right buyer arrive to enable January signings? Others who should be surplus to requirements and available include Dubravka, Targett and Hayden, but they’re either stuck on big contracts and tough to shift or unlikely to obtain enough of a fee that allows us to spend.

And therein, again, is the problem. If signings are needed in key areas but sales are key to avoid another PSR scramble in June, would we as fans take the summer sale of Isak or Bruno for £100m+ to strengthen in January? Qualification for some form of European competition is vital to increase revenues, but wouldn’t the club rather get the trophy monkey of its back?

And look at Forest and where they are now following a points deduction for spending money they weren’t supposed to, or in another parlance, cheating. Sure, their last couple of results have been poor but they’ve assembled a decent squad will players of resale value who have them in the top half and in with a shout of Europe, no matter how early it is in the season.

There is also a 115 charges shaped elephant in the room and the submission of accounts for PSR compliance at the start of the new year to consider too, making January even more intriguing and even more of a minefield which United must navigate.

Yet, personally, I think the next eight games will be more instructive on how January will go and who, ultimately the club is strengthening the squad for. The whole club needs a shot in the arm, you just wonder how it is going to come.