United aiming to be 'opportunistic and creative' in January's window

Newcastle United finally welcomed £55 million deadline-day signing Yoane Wissa to the side during Saturday's 2-1 win over Burnley in the Premier League.

- by Dominic Scurr

The forward came off the bench to make his debut after being ruled out for three months due to a knee injury. The Magpies also started Aaron Ramsdale, Malick Thiaw, Jacob Ramsey, Anthony Elanga and Nick Woltemade.

It's the first time all six of Newcastle's summer signings have featured in a match and the first time in the Premier League that five of them had started.

Eddie Howe is yet to see significant benefits from the near £250 million summer transfer spend on his side so far. Thiaw has impressed at centre-back while Woltemade's seven goals have softened the blow of being without Wissa for the opening months of the campaign.

But Newcastle have had a largely inconsistent start to the season despite picking up 10 points out of their last 12 available in the Premier League. They've progressed to the quarterfinal of the Carabao Cup, put themselves in a good position in the Champions League but are 11th in the Premier League.

The table is incredibly tight, with just three points separating Chelsea in fifth, which will likely be the final Champions League place, and Manchester United in 12th. In such a tight season, a couple of January additions could make all the difference.