The primary focus is always on bringing in new talent in January, but Newcastle United should also focus on selling some players.
The January transfer window is not far away and Newcastle United are supposedly prepared to be active this time around. Rafa Benitez is keen on bringing some quality players to Newcastle to create more internal competition and to secure survival in the Premier League. From what we all know at the moment, the Magpies will be looking to add a new attacking midfielder, a left-back and possibly another striker.
While it is important for Newcastle to remain competitive by signing new players, it is also important for the club to sell players to make extra profit and to help some unused players revive their careers after not playing much on Tyneside. In my opinion, here are three players that Benitez should place on the transfer list for January.
Ciaran Clark
The first player to make this list is Ciaran Clark. The Irishman is a decent defender who can start for some bottom-half clubs in the Premier League, but his role will always be limited at Newcastle. When looking at the roster this season, the competition among central defenders will be too much for Clark to handle. It is extremely difficult for me to find any bright spots for Clark when it is quite obvious that he is not as talented as Jamaal Lascelles, Federico Fernandez, Fabian Schar and Florian Lejeune. For these reasons, Newcastle should find some suitors for Clark in January.
Isaac Hayden
Selling Isaac Hayden should be the easiest decision for Benitez this season. The defensive midfielder has made it clear that he does not want to stay at the club as he wishes to move closer to his family in southern England. In addition, Hayden has made zero contribution for the club this season and he nearly cost us the match with a red card against Cardiff City.
Furthermore, there is no way he would ever start over Jonjo Shelvey, Mohamed Diame and Ki Sung-yueng when they are healthy. Grant his transfer request and let us move on from this soap opera,
Jacob Murphy
Finally, we have Jacob Murphy. I have tried to be supportive of the 23-year-old winger, but he has not met expectations on Tyneside. In fact, Newcastle’s scouts should be scratching their heads when they realize they chose the wrong twin from Norwich City. Regardless, Murphy has shown flashes of great skills last season, but the competition between him and Christian Atsu, Matt Ritchie and Kenedy is proving to be too much to handle. Benitez likes Murphy and I doubt he will be sold in January, but he would be better off in the EFL Championship.