Only time will tell if moves away from Newcastle United prove successful for big-money four

Moussa Sissoko hasnt exactly been white-hot since his celebrated move to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer.

Many players have regretted leaving Newcastle United. Many haven't.

The grass, we know, isn’t always greener away from St James’s Park.

This summer saw a number of departures in the wake of the club’s relegation.

The highest-profile departures were those of Moussa Sissoko and Georginio Wijnaldum.

Others, including Andros Townsend and Daryl Janmaat, also left United.

How will they view their move at the end of the season – and beyond?

MOUSSA SISSOKO

Moussa Sissoko’s move to Tottenham Hotspur was celebrated on Tyneside. At the time, the same seemed to be a £30million masterstroke from Newcastle.

And the midfielder’s done nothing since to suggest otherwise.

Tottenham supporters, unhappy at their team’s form in both the Premier League and Champions League, are already questioning the wisdom of the deadline day deal.

That said, it’s doubtful that Sissoko will come to regret leaving United.

The 27-year-old had long wanted a big move and a bigger pay packet. He got that, and he won’t look back.

GEORGINIO WIJNALDUM

Georginio Wijnaldum had a tough start to life at Liverpool following his £25million move from Newcastle.

But his team are doing just fine under Jurgen Klopp.

And last seasons’s top goalscorer – Wijnaldum scored 11 goals in his only season at St James’s Park following his move last year from PSV Eindhoven – will feel he can win a medal with Liverpool this season.

Wijanldum – who struggled for form in the early part of the season – scored his first goal for the club in the weekend’s 6-1 win over Watford.

And the 25-year-old won’t regret leaving United.

ANDROS TOWNSEND

Of the summer departures, Andros Townsend was probably the one player that most Newcastle fans wanted to stay.

The winger, signed in January from Tottenham for £12million, had actually enhanced his reputation during a difficult few months at St James’s Park.

Townsend’s energy and enthusiasm had given United a chance of beating the drop.

The 25-year-old, however, felt he had to leave for the sake of his career. Asked about the decision, he said: “I had to go with my head and not my heart.”

Townsend might have been better going with his heart.

Crystal Palace, his new team, are a point above the relegation zone and he was recently dropped by Alan Pardew.

The England international may well come to regret quitting United, if he doesn’t already.

DARYL JANMAAT

Daryl Janmaat looked a captain-in-waiting when he first joined Newcastle in the summer of 2014.

Yet he looked anything but a leader in the second half of last season.

And Janmaat’s unfortunate spell out with a fractured hand didn’t help him – or his team – late in the club’s fateful relegation campaign.

The defender suffered the injury punching a door at the St Mary’s Stadium after a heated dressing room exchange following the club’s defeat to Southampton.

Janmaat didn’t seem as at ease at Newcastle in his second season.

Publicly, he said he wanted to stay in the Premier League, but maybe his mind was made up to leave in the wake of that fractious afternoon on the south coast.

Whatever, Watford, his new club, are a creditable eighth in the Premier League table.

But maybe Janmaat – who scored in their 6-1 defeat at Anfield on Sunday – will come to miss playing in front of 52,000 fans every other week.