Newcastle's January plans - Two signings now needed as new injury fears emerge?

During this morning's press conference, Eddie Howe was quizzed on Newcastle's January plans, with Sandro Tonali banned for the remainder of the season and NINE first-team players currently sidelined.

As expected, his answer gave little away. He said, "January is such a long way off. I can’t sit down and say what we will do. It will be closer to January when we formulate our plans."

However, it's starting to feel like we'll need more than just a short-term replacement for Tonali, as Howe's comments on Sven Botman's knee injury were particularly concerning.

We're almost two months on from his initial injury, yet Howe admitted that we'll find out "over the next few weeks" what the full extent of the injury is, refusing to rule out surgery when another journalist asked if that was a possibility.

A midfielder on loan feels likely to fill the void Tonali has left - Kalvin Phillips and Ruben Neves have both been strongly linked - but it feels increasingly likely that we also sign a centre-back, especially when we tried and failed to land one over the summer window.

It's been well documented that we've been in the market for a young, right-sided centre-back able to become a long-term partner for Botman. The latter may be out and it remains unclear just how long he'll be missing, but we've seen Fabian Schar fill in superbly on the left side. Dan Burn is another option down that side, creating the need for another right-sided option, ideally with pace, athleticism and ability on the ball.

It remains to be seen what finances will allow in January, but if we focus on a loan signing to fill the gap in midfield, some funds may be available to sign a centre-back, should the right one emerge this winter?

I don't expect Crystal Palace to part with Joachim Andersen mid-season, but European options could be explored, with Nice's Jean-Clair Todibo, Leverkusen's Edmond Tapsoba and Benfica's Antonio Silva just a few 'targets' who failed to land summer moves.