Newcastle ‘superstar’ signing only a matter of time as Eddie Howe makes January plans clear

Rob McCarthy 22 Dec 2023 9:42 AM

Eddie Howe is expected to be backed in the market again

Newcastle have reportedly decided that will not offload any players in the January transfer window, although one pundit believes it’s only a matter of time before ‘superstars’ start walking through the door at St James’ Park.

The Magpies have not spent the sort of cash that many were expecting after their Saudi-led takeover, with no real superstars of the game arriving on Tyneside just yet.

However, former West Ham and Celtic striker Frank McAvennie is confident that the club will soon be able to attract big names to St James.

As for January, Football Insider reports that Howe is keen to keep his first-team squad intact after a testing season so far due to countless injury issues.

FI also adds that Newcastle crashing out of Europe completely should not have an impact on their spending in the new year, with the plan always in place to utilise the loan market.

And McAvennie admits he is eager to see Howe keep his squad together and bring in “superstars” to help them as they continue to progress into an established European force.

“I don’t know who would want to leave Newcastle,” he told Football Insider.

“It’s a great project there going forward and Eddie Howe has got the best out of them, so they won’t sell.

“If you bring in superstars and quality, experienced pros, the other boys can learn from them and take them to that next level.

“I think about Man United when Ronaldo came back – the young players didn’t want to talk to him or learn from him.

“I can’t see that happening at Newcastle. They love football and they’d relish the chance to have superstars coming into the club.

“They will at some point down the line bring in that level of player, one superstar will join soon and then others will follow. It’s happening, and it’s amazing for the fans.”

After the disappointment of crashing out of the Carabao Cup at the quarter-final stage in midweek, Newcastle are back in Premier League action on Saturday afternoon when they head to Luton Town.

Following the Luton clash they host Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day before a New Year’s Day trip to Liverpool.

Howe’s men are currently five points off fourth spot in the race for Champions League spots and 10 points behind leaders Arsenal.