The Casting Shadow over The Tyne now is the ever-looming presence of the end of the January transfer window and the lack of activity on Tyneside. But what has occurred this January, and is anything likely to be done before todays deadline?

Let’s take a look back at this window. So, in terms of incomings, we had Isaac Hayden and Joe White returning from loans but aside from that no incomings on loan or permanent deals have come, of course largely due to the heavily publicised issue of FFP.  Incomings have been sparse and so too have the outgoings with only Javi Manquillo being allowed to depart the club in this window on a free to Rafa Benitez led Celta Vigo. Outgoings being sparse seems to reflect the FFP situation with us having no cash to replace players, but also because of the injury situation that has been prevalent at St James’ Park this season.

What could happen then? Well let’s touch on outgoings first. The most likely player to depart is Miguel Almiron. Originally signed in 2019 for £20.5m (according to Transfermarkt) Miggy has played 195 times for the Toon, scoring 30 and assisting 11 in this time. He’s become a key cog in Eddie’s system with his constant energy making him a fan favourite. He isn’t a gifted footballer in terms of his footballing IQ and his severe one-footed nature and with Saudi club Al-Shabab being linked perhaps selling Miggy wouldn’t be the worst decision with Murphy back to fitness too it would make sense. Do I think it’ll happen? Well, I think it’s most certainly the most likely of our rumours and for a reported £30 million I think we would bite their hands off. This is now no longer happening due to the Saudi window closing, one to look on in the summer?

Lascelles is also currently being linked with a departure, this time to Turkey. Turkish giants Besiktas are being credited with a significant interest over a deal worth around £4m. Our current captain and a long serving player, Lascelles has played 247 times for Newcastle scoring 15 and assisting 4. Jamaal is also a former Newcastle player of the year (17/18). Now this season, Lascelles has been very much back to his best and has shown why he won that player of the year, and I very much would not sell. My reasoning is that he’s a superb leader around the club and in the dressing room and he’s a reliable backup, not looking out of place in a Champions League squad.

The third and final out that could potentially happen (Trippier is fully off for those wondering) is that of Callum Wilson. Wilson is being linked with Arsenal, Chelsea, Atletico Madrid, and AC Milan and is said to be interested in speaking to all interested parties. Wilson is a great striker when the ball is in the 18-yard box, but outside the penalty area Wilson is a little bit sluggish, doesn’t really have ounces of technical ability and realistically misses half the season injured with his hamstring issues. If we could recoup some of the £19m we spent on him in 2020 after getting over 100 appearances and 46 goals out of him then I think that is a deal worth taking should we have a replacement in mind.

Which brings me onto incomings. Now with me saying both the Miggy and Wils deals would make sense both would need replacing as it would leave us with Murphy, Ritchie and Tino available to play right winger and just Isak as a number 9. But who do you go for with just three days left until the deadline? Well, here’s our current most likely links.

Alfie Harrison is a done deal from Man City, so I’ll avoid talking about that one. According to TransferMarkt our current links have us heavily targeting a central midfielder (a position we have struggled with this season) with players such as Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Désiré Doué, Phillip Billing and Brazilian Éderson all being linked with us. Hojbjerg feels like a no go to me in all honesty. Hojbjerg, an excellent reader of the game with an ability to play an incisive pass, is a defensively minded midfielder which again is something lacking at St James’ right now but is he better than Longstaff, Miley, Willock and will he slot into our tactics, I’m not convinced personally that he is the right option.

Doué a more attacking minded option is known for rapid bursts of pace and dribbling feints not too dissimilar to the way Lionel Messi has done in the past. The 18-year-old plays a very important role at Rennes, having already made 41 appearances for their first team. This is the sort of player that would spell our ambition out, my only worry is he will cost a fair penny and I have a feeling he’d be forced onto one of our wings which he’d do well enough but would waste certain aspects of his talent.

Billing I’m only going to touch on in this one sentence and this is by simply saying he is only linked with us because he’s a Bournemouth player and the press seems to think Eddie is going to go after every Bournemouth player.

Éderson is my number one option. Not shoehorned into a specific role in midfield Éderson can do it all. A very talented ball-carrier with brilliant technical ability Éderson is a superb example of the central players Brazil can produce. And with us already having a core of Brazilians in the centre of the park could Éderson be next? Well, he’d work in Eddie’s system with his intensity, and I think he’d be perfect for us.

Now to touch on the right-wing spot where only one name is being linked: Morgan Gibbs-White. If we could sell Miggy and get Gibbs-White, I’d be a very happy man as Gibbs-White is such a talented footballer and one of the few in that Forest team who needs to depart for the good of their career. Trickery and pace emboss the playstyle of MGW but he is so much more that that as a heavily diverse and adaptable player he would fit Eddie’s system so much. I feel he’s much more of a realistic option for the summer but keep an eye on this one.

And finally, let’s touch on centre forward options which admittedly have been quiet for a while. Dominic Solanke has been linked with the club after having a superb season at Bournemouth. A player who knows the league, has played under Eddie and is a superb centre forward feels like a no brainer to me, aside from what fee Bournemouth might demand for a player whose more than likely to be second in the queue for the starting striker role. Serhou Guirrasy has also been linked with the Toon after having a fantastic start to the Bundesliga season but I feel he’s very much a purple patch player similar to Miggy and I’d personally pass.

So all in all I feel today will be a quiet day with not much in terms of incomings or outgoings but I’d keep an eye out just in case somebody leaves.