A look ahead at January

With the winter transfer window opening in a little under 2 months time I thought I would take a look at what might happen for Newcastle United. You could argue that nothing needs to happen; we have won 8 games in a row and sit at the top of the league, 3 points above second place and with a comfortable margin on the other chasing clubs. We are in the ¼ finals of the EFL Cup and right now everything is rosy on the pitch. Off the pitch, everything is fantastic - yes, there is a potential ban looming for Jonjo Shelvey but Newcastle United should approach the transfer window in an incredibly healthy state but it is important we continue this run of form throughout the rest of this month and December.

Of course, the good form we have been having this season has made a few clubs sit up and take notice and it wouldn’t surprise me if some of our top performers are targeted, especially by Premiership sides, perhaps even more so by struggling Premiership sides looking to stay in the division.

So far, the only link there has been was alleged interest in club captain, Jamaal Lascelles from Chelsea. Lascelles is young, English, captain, a left sided centre back and in the form of his life; I would be surprised if he wasn’t linked with anyone. I also suspect there will be lots more of our players linked with moves away from the club over the coming weeks.

I also think the transfer window will test Rafa Benitez’s squad rotation policy; yes, it is working, and working well. The players have been on record in the local and national press in support of it and the harmony in the side is at a level I have not seen since the Keegan days of the mid-90s but can some of the player’s heads be turned? Especially if a club comes knocking and offering a first team place and perhaps European football? I suspect so. But I hope not.

For me, the players who are likely to be targets of Premier League sides, or sides in other top European leagues are Chancel Mbemba, Vurnon Anita, Cheick Tiote (remember him?), Ayoze Perez and Aleksandar Mitrovic. With the exception of perhaps Tiote, I want to keep them all - at least until the end of the season. We are performing well this season but I am in no doubt that should we get promoted to the Premier League, there will have to be some squad shuffling - but the January transfer window is not the time to do that.

In my opinion we need to keep the current squad together and for the first time in perhaps 5 years I am hoping we do not sell anyone. Normally, when a transfer window approaches, I see it as an opportunity to rebuild, to remove some of the deadwood and replace with better players (granted, this rarely happens); but this time it is different. We normally arrive at the January transfer window in poor form, we are struggling for league wins and we are towards the bottom, if not at the bottom, of the league. We panic buy, we flap around for players who don’t really want to come and play for us but see us as a stepping stone and a source of an extortionate salary. This time it is completely different. I don’t want players to be sold, I don’t want the strong bond the squad has to be broken or at least weakened. I am more than happy if we keep things as they are.

Newcastle United enter the transfer window in a strong position. We are able to give new signings the hope of Premier League football next season; you could even say we are a bigger draw this January window than most of the bottom 6 or 7 sides in the Premier League. If our league form continues to be as strong as it has been so far, that hope of Premier League football next season will be stronger come January.

There is of course the Rafa Benitez factor; he will be a huge draw for any player and I still think Rafa has a few tricks up his sleeves in terms of recruitment.

Finally and perhaps most importantly, there is the financial side of matters. Newcastle United are in an incredibly strong position to compete with most of the Premier League clubs financially and in fairness most of the other sides in the Championship simply can’t compete at all, so in theory, we should leave the January transfer window stronger than our league opponents. We ended the summer transfer window with a £30m profit (hope you’re enjoying Sissoko Spurs fans!) so you would assume that money is still available at the very least.

I’ll write more about some of the players we have been linked with in the lead up to the window opening over the next few weeks. Right now I am just enjoying being top of the league!