Newcastle United have carried over last season's emphatic form and are now cementing their position of power at the upper end of the Premier League table, but Eddie Howe is already planning for improvements.
Who are Newcastle interested in signing in January?
Having spent lucratively over the past several transfer windows, Newcastle have succeeded in building a team capable of breaking the power dynamic in the English top-flight, securing a fourth-placed finish last season, but there is still work to be done and Howe appears to have placed an emphasis on the central midfield.
Indeed, Emile Smith Rowe's name has been touted, with the creative Arsenal midfielder sitting on the fringe with the north London side, with the Northern Echo reporting that a January move has been discussed.
He's not the only rival midfielder to be linked with a move to St. James' Park, with Manchester City's Kalvin Phillips set to leave the Etihad Stadium after scant match action, and Newcastle are among the suitors.
The England international wishes to remain with the English champions but, as the Daily Mail claims, the Magpies and Everton are interested and could now save his nightmare in obscurity.
Why hasn't Kalvin Phillips played much at Man City?
City completed the £45m transfer of Phillips from Leeds United – where he had risen through the youth ranks – in July 2022, with Pep Guardiola compensating for the loss of stalwart Fernandinho.
In all honesty, it was a deal that had its caveats from the off, with Phillips yielding an unwanted injury record and Manchester City's existing midfield options providing more than a testing task in cementing a starting berth.
And unfortunately for Phillips, that ordeal festered into a scorching baptism of fire, having played just 21 times and earned only two Premier League starts, leading the FWA's Tom McDermott to brand the move a “waste”.
This season, he has made five appearances thus far but has only earned one start, coming during an injury-hit spell for his side against Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup – doing himself no favours at the centre of a 1-0 defeat.
Now, Phillips is a talented midfielder and of course, boasts attributes that would bolster Newcastle's squad, but given he has missed 34 matches across the past two campaigns due to injury and is displaying the last vestiges of his former vigour at Elland Road, Howe likely has his reservations.
Should Newcastle sign Phillips?
Negatively, it could well hamper the progress of someone such as Sean Longstaff, who has been hailed as the "unsung hero" of St. James' Park by pundits Paul Merson and Jamie Redknapp.
As per FBref, the Toon academy graduate ranks among the top 12% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for touches in the attacking penalty area and the top 16% for progressive passes received, underscoring his energy and enthusiasm, weaving through promising passages of play into the danger areas.
His tenacity and industriousness truly have been integral to the fluidity of Newcastle's team, and having started half of his side's matches this season so far, the impact of his presence has been profound.
Starts
Wins
Draws
Losses
Points per game
With Longstaff
4
1
0
2.6
Without Longstaff
2
0
3
1.2
Data via Transfermarkt
It's the churning engine of his craft, the unrelentling work ethic that has made the difference, and at no disregard to Phillips' abilities, would ousting such an important figure truly be prudent for the Magpies?
Ultimately, it is Howe's finger that will pull the trigger, but based on the current evidence, it is unlikely that he would risk unsettling the equilibrium for a player of questionable reliability.