The January window is rapidly approaching; can Newcastle replicate these successes?
It is nearly time again for the hyper-inflated market that is the January transfer window.
One club who have utilised the window with both success and failure in recent years is Newcastle United. A host of both leading stars and dismal flops have arrived at St. James’ Park mid-season over the last decade or so.
Here we have focused on the former to bring you a look at the Magpies’ top six January signings.
Danny Simpson (Manchester United, 2010)
Though he had already been on loan at Newcastle for the first half of 2009-10, the Magpies paid just a reported £750,000 to make the move permanent in January 2010.
That proved to be one of the club’s best pieces of business in recent memory. A regular throughout his time at the club, Simpson racked up 138 appearances in four years before leaving for QPR in 2013. Last year he completed his progression by winning the Premier League title as Leicester City’s first-choice right-back.
Kevin Nolan (Bolton Wanderers, 2009)
Nolan was brought to Tyneside in 2009, and although he could not prevent their relegation at the end of the season, he was a key man in their charge straight back to the Premier League.
Always a leading vocal figure, Nolan also did a lot of his talking with his football. He was named the Championship Player of the Year after the Magpies’ promotion, and was named club captain that summer. Other highlights followed, such as a hat-trick against arch-rivals Sunderland, and he had racked up 30 goals in just 91 games from midfield by the time he left for West Ham in 2011.
Andros Townsend (Tottenham Hotspur, 2016)
One of two players in our list who arrived a year ago, Townsend is by far the shortest-serving player to appear here.
The winger, signed by Steve McClaren, was a key driving force of the club’s late resurgence under Rafa Benitez last term, scoring four times in 13 games and becoming arguably his side’s leading star. He was unwilling to drop down to the Championship, however, and left St. James’ Park after just five months to join Crystal Palace this summer.
Jonjo Shelvey (Swansea City, 2016)
The other player signed in 2016, Shelvey has been arguably the Magpies most important figure on a consistent basis since arriving.
Easily one of the best midfielders in the Championship, the former Liverpool and Swansea man has been a driving force behind the Magpies’ pace-setting campaign at the top so far this term.
Moussa Sissoko (Toulouse, 2013)
Before his poor attitude and very public requests to leave the club, Sissoko had been a key man at St. James’ Park. The profit the Magpies made on him alone – signing him for a reported fee of around £1.5 million and selling him this summer for £30 million – would arguably merit his inclusion in this list.
He was also a key figure for the club, however. Sissoko missed just 11 Premier League games in three-and-a-half years for the club, often setting St. James’ Park alight with his talent, before throwing a strop and joining Spurs.
Papiss Cisse (Freiburg, 2012)
Signed from German side Freiburg in January 2012, Papiss Cisse’s first half-season at Newcastle was the definition of an instant impact. The Senegalese striker scored 13 goals in his first 14 Premier League appearances, firing the Magpies to fifth place and Europa League qualification.
He hit the same tally in his first full campaign at the club, and though his form would become more inconsistent in his later years at the club, he racked up 44 goals in 131 games by the time he left for China in July.
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