sport news Do Newcastle need strengthen in January to have any chance of finishing in the ... trends now

A year ago, the mood was gloomy around St James' Park. 

Despite a marked improvement in performances since Eddie Howe took over from Steve Bruce in November 2021, the threat of relegation was real as the Magpies headed into 2022 joint bottom of the Premier League.

With just one win from their first 18 games and only 10 points, Howe's side had conceded a whopping 41 goals and had much plenty of work to do.

They were then knocked out of the FA Cup by League One side Cambridge and the only way was up.

Fast forward a year and after a quite frankly unbelievable 12 months for the club, the mood could barely be more different.

St James' Park is now a fortress, bouncing at every home game as Newcastle continue to upset the established top six as they rise up the Premier League table.

Having accumulated 39 points across their final 20 games last season - conceding just 21 in the process - the Magpies finished in 11th place, 14 clear of the relegation zone.

Their superb form and the feel-good factor around the club continued into this campaign with Howe's side sitting in third place with 35 points from 18 games following Tuesday night's 0-0 draw with Arsenal - a position not even the most optimistic Newcastle fan could have anticipated in their wildest dreams.

The stalemate with the Gunners marked Newcastle's sixth clean sheet in a row which leaves them with the league's strongest defence having conceded just 11 goals.

The back-line of Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Sven Botman and Dan Burn, supplemented by Nick Pope in goal have been nothing short of sensational - but in truth it has been a team effort with Howe's side relentless in their hard work out of possession.

They had won six games in a row before being held 0-0 by Leeds on New Year's Eve, and they failed again to score at the Emirates on Tuesday.

This has led to questions over whether Howe needs reinforcements to continue his side's impressive season and maintain their pursuit of Champions League football - something that will no doubt be helped by the absence of any European games in comparison to their rivals.

Since the Saudi-backed ownership took over the club from the deeply unpopular Mike Ashley in October 2021, they have spent around £210m in the transfer market to resounding success.

Having first brought in Kieran Trippier (£12m), Chris Wood (£25m), Bruno Guimaraes (£40m) and Dan Burn (£13m) in January last year, they spent heavily again in the summer.

Matt Targett (£15m) arrived after a successful loan, while Nick Pope (£10m), Sven Botman (£35m) and Alexander Isak (£63m) were all brought in.

Arguably only Wood and Targett haven't been superb additions - but the acquisition of the forward significantly weakened last season's relegation rivals Burnley - while Targett impressed before he was displaced in the starting line-up at left-back by Burn.

The heavy spending and success in the transfer market has raised hopes among Newcastle fans they will spend again this January but this is something Howe poured cold water over last week, citing Financial Fair Play as a limitation.

'If you’re looking to improve the team, the starting XI as it is if we have no injuries, then that is a challenge in the market currently,' he said ahead of their clash with Leeds.

'Again, with an unlimited budget, that might be possible – not that we necessarily have a budget at the moment – but with Financial Fair Play looming and with those restrictions, it’s almost impossible.

'Anything we do do in January then potentially harms us for the summer. There is always another window coming up and what you don’t want to do is handcuff yourself for future windows, so there’s a lot to consider.'

Howe rightly points out the importance of meeting FFP requirements but with rivals in the top four race likely to spend and the past two stalemates with Leeds and Arsenal, do the Magpies need to bring in reinforcements to keep

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