What could be a dream transfer window for Howe

EDDIE

- By LEE RYDER

Howe has entered the January transfer window with a realistic take on what is needed during the toughest trading period of the year.Just four years ago, Newcastle - feeling flush after an autumn takeover and years of treading water in the transfer market under Mike Ashley - signed important stars such as Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn as they turned a near relegation certainty into a mid-table finish. Fast forward to 2026, it is very different.

It has not been a dream season in the Premier League but, for all their troubles, including bad defeats at Brentford, West Ham, Manchester United and Sunderland, Newcastle are within swinging distance of the top five again.

If Howe guided Newcastle to their third Champions League finish in four years, it could arguably be the most impressive yet, given he would have achieved it by rowing back against some serious adversity.

As it stands, Burn, Anthony Elanga, Emil Krafth, Jamaal Lascelles and William Osula are all injured and Trippier, Sven Botman and Tino Livramento are just back from layoffs. Newcastle could get Champions League football again and may well need a little bit of help to get it. But no doors are being shut in Howe's face in terms of transfers.