It’s set to be a big month at Newcastle United in terms of both bringing in new players and offloading quite a few stars.

The vision from sporting director Ross Wilson is clear: our young talent in particular need first team minutes, and with how fierce competition is for places under Eddie Howe is right now, we’re going to see plenty of loan deals arranged in the coming weeks.

Earlier today, it was revealed that Joe White and Harrison Ashby were in talks to join Bradford City on loan. And now, according to a new report, another Toon talent seems to be edging closer to leaving on loan for the rest of the campaign, just days after Ben Parkinson completed a permanent move to Falkirk.

Second U-21 departure imminent

According to the Shields Gazette, Newcastle U-21s captain Cathal Heffernan is next in line to leave the club this window, but unlike Parkinson, he’ll only be going out on loan.

Though no club is explicitly named in the report, it does state that sides in the EFL and Scottish Premiership have been eyeing up the former AC Milan talent, with a move expected to go ahead in the coming days.

He was a notable absentee from the U-21s game against Middlesbrough on Friday, alongside other key players include Alfie Harrison and Leo Shahar, who have also been linked with loan exits.

Sam Alabi and Sean Neave both featured on the bench for the senior squad against Bournemouth in the FA Cup, which would hint that neither has are as close to securing a loan deal just yet.

Heffernan has been earning some acclaim for his leadership and defensive capabilities, with recently departed head coach Adam Lawrence signing the youngster’s praises so far this season.

“I think if you look at Heff’s performances, particularly in the Under-21s games over the last couple of months, you can see he is ready for that next step in terms of going into senior football physically and his level of performance.”

Could another youngster be set to stay?

The Athletic previously reported that Alex Murphy was another young defender who was being set up for a loan departure this window to further his development.

But after Saturday’s FA Cup game, we should perhaps be thankful that this didn’t happen sooner, as Murphy now finds himself as one of the three dedicated fullback options Howe has at the moment following Livramento’s hamstring injury.

We’ve seen Murphy hold his own during the pre-season tour in Asia, but the intense January fixture list we have will be a big task for the 21-year-old to help with rotation for Lewis Hall and Kieran Trippier.