Once upon the Tyne, Newcastle United would have probably been unable to resist a January bid for a player like Marcus Rashford.

The England international is being punted around Europe after Manchester United came to the conclusion he was not the right fit for Ruben Amorim's Red Devils. Serie A clubs, La Liga clubs and a host of Premier League sides in need of a winter boost have been linked with the 27-year-old.

But even though Newcastle are definitely in need of a senior striker for cover during Callum Wilson's injury lay off, Rashford's £300,000 per week wage demands make it a non-starter given that is more than twice the amount of the top earners at the club. Of course, Newcastle could push boundaries, but the prospect of bringing in a player who does not fit into the ethos at Benton is too great a risk for an astute head coach like Eddie Howe.

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If it's not going well for Rashford at Man United, why would it be any different at equally ambitious Newcastle? Back in the day, the Magpies went on a run of signing players on reputation rather than potential.

Incoming deals for the likes of Michael Owen, Patrick Kluivert, Nicky Butt, Mark Viduka and Alan Smith all looked great on paper. And looked even better when they were paraded with their shirts in front of the TV cameras.

However, while they all had a particular pedigree, they weren't right for Newcastle United at that time. Rashford has the same vibes and while former chairman Freddy Shepherd had the club at heart, unfortunately, too often he was let down by the high earners he'd put his trust in.

If only they'd cared the same that Shepherd had or the the same way the fans did. It's why costly risks like Rashford aren't part of the philosophy at St James' Park these days.

Howe's stance on signings is first class to be honest, he said at the start of the current campaign: "If a player is thinking about other things, maybe they're not the right fit for us.

"It's about what we can offer them on the football pitch, how we can develop their careers, so there's a host of reasons that go into it."

And while Newcastle, as a location has been questioned by pundits like Troy Deeney in recent times, Howe shrugs off another unfounded theory about the North-East.

He said: "Some deals we've done, some deals we've lost. That's the natural thing I've always gone through with transfers, but since I've been here, I've never experienced someone not wanting to come here because of the area where the club is situated."

Whatever the argument the fact that Howe is building an exciting team around stars such as Lewis Hall, Tino Livramento, Sven Botman, Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes, Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak suggests that the bulk of his team building is done.

Newcastle can rightly afford to be choosy about possible targets, both now and in the summer.