Mick Quinn explains what Newcastle United need – but reported targets can’t provide it

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Without Dwight Gayle scoring for fun, where would The Magpies be?

Former Newcastle United striker Mick Quinn has told The Chronicle that Rafa Benitez’s side need to target a goalscoring midfielder in January – but none of their reported targets appear to fit the bill.

The Magpies have slipped to second in the table after losing two of their last three Championship fixtures, coinciding with influential playmaker Jonjo Shelvey’s suspension.

And they were left cursing their luck as struggling Blackburn Rovers snatched three points against them for the second time this season, Charlie Mulgrew scoring with the hosts only shot on target while Newcastle failed to hit the net with 25 attempts on goal.

However, cynics will argue that a seventh defeat of the season was not merely the result of Lady Luck turning her back but an overreliance upon Dwight Gayle for goals.

The prolific centre forward has netted a league leading 19 but, behind him, only Matt Ritchie (below) and Yoan Gouffran have struck more than three times (four apiece).

Furthermore, the other midfielders at Benitez’s disposal have only scored nine times between them and Quinn believes this highlights where Newcastle need to spend in January.

“For whatever reason, creativity is lacking – and so is devilment. Particularly from midfield,” Quinn said in quotes reported by The Chronicle. “Dwight Gayle can’t do it all by himself.

“That simply isn’t good enough from midfield. Not for a side who are chasing automatic promotion.

“United need a Kevin Nolan-type player who is going to bust a gut and will knock over his granny if he has to in order to get into the box and get on the end of crosses.”

Nolan netted 17 times in Newcastle’s 2009/10 promotion winning season but none of the club’s reported January targets appear capable of finding the net with such regularity.

The Daily Mail claim that Benitez is interested in Chelsea wonderkid Ruben Loftus-Cheek as well as former England international’s Fabian Delph and Tom Cleverley in January.

However, in 371 combined league appearances, the trio have only accumulated 37 goals between them, a third of which came in Cleverley’s loan spell at Watford in 2009/10.

The trio may purport to add creativity and guile to a Shelvey-deprived midfield but, if the unspeakable was to happen and Gayle picked up a knock or worse, where would Newcastle’s goals come from?