The transfer questions that have been answered this season by Newcastle United - and the ones that need solutions in January

Very few could argue with Newcastle’s decision to make Joe Willock’s stay at St James’s Park a permanent one.

£25million seemed a good price for the midfielder who, thanks to his haul of seven goals in seven consecutive games, almost single-handedly kept Newcastle United safe last campaign.

A bright, young English talent who already had a great rapport with the fan base coming to the north east seemed like the perfect move for all involved.

Willock may have struggled to replicate that form this season, however, his signing did, at the time, help bolster the energy in the middle of the park.

One major criticism of Jonjo Shelvey, Isaac Hayden and Sean Longstaff was their lack of legs in midfield, leading to questions about how Newcastle’s midfield could cope with the demands of the Premier League.

The signing Willock answered that question, at least temporarily.

But, as we head into another transfer window, another body in midfield may be on the agenda as Eddie Howe attempts to mould his squad to fit his philosophy.

However, this is not the priority area to strengthen next month and it is clear that it is in defence where the team must be improved.

With just one clean sheet in the league, no team has a worse defensive record than Newcastle United this season.

Since the departure of Rafa Benitez, Newcastle’s defensive statistics have got worse and it seemed obvious that the defence needed freshening up ahead of this campaign - yet, no one was brought in.

In fact, they were made even weaker with Florian Lejeune leaving the club to join Alaves.

If there is one question that needs answered next month, it is their defence. At least two or three players will be needed to add quality to the back line and an improvement in that area is a must if Newcastle are to survive in the Premier League this season.

Whether that’s Premier League proven talent like James Tarkowski, Conor Coady and Kieran Trippier, or promising young players like Sven Botman - defensive recruitments are needed.

What may also now be needed, following his injury against Manchester United, is a back-up to Callum Wilson.

If Wilson’s injury is as bad as feared, he may be missing action for a few months, and Newcastle will be missing his goals.

They need to find a replacement for these goals and could use January to do just this.

Wilson will be a big miss for Howe’s side in the second-half of the season and his newest injury setback poses yet another question for the recruitment team ahead of January.

As we have seen, there are plenty of questions that need to be solved in January at St James’s Park but the good news is that, for the first time in the last decade-and-a-half, they enter the window with the resources to be able to answer these questions.

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