Toon owners in danger of taking biggest risk yet since Saudi takeover?

After disappointment on the pitch on Saturday night, it's been a (potentially) damaging few days off the field for Newcastle United.

Joelinton is facing season-ending surgery and this news has coincided with claims that we have walked away from Kalvin Phillips talks, with Man City demanding a hefty loan fee and a £40m clause that forces us to sign him permanently this summer.

The Phillips situation could change, but a theme across recent reports is that FFP is a huge problem this month and we may even go without signings if the right deal doesn't become available. 'Loans or nothing' has been suggested, but there's not a great deal of quality options available on a temporary basis, not to mention Eddie Howe's comments about us having 'no friends in the market.'

All of the above creates hurdles for us to overcome, but it feels like a new signing (or two) is now absolutely essential if Joelinton is out for the season. Not only will he be a huge miss, we have Joe Willock and Elliot Anderson struggling to recover from ongoing issues. Howe said the pair won't be back  “anytime soon”, with Harvey Barnes also having a “long way to go” despite gradual improvement.

Jacob Murphy and Callum Wilson aside, it feels like non of our injured players (11 in total) will be back soon. Murphy and Wilson returning will boost our attacking options, but we currently have THREE fit midfielders in Bruno Guimaraes - who is one yellow card away from a two-match ban - Sean Longstaff and 17-year-old Lewis Miley.

I get that the club must be careful with FFP, so I don't expect us to suddenly spend big this month, but bringing forward parts of our summer budget, considering loan moves for available Saudi Pro League stars or paying that bit extra (albeit reluctantly) to fill a gaping gap in our squad feels essential if we have any hope of saving this season. Not only that, we risk further injuries if the same group of players are forced to go again and again, with our lack of options from the bench telling in that 3-2 defeat to Man City.

After Fulham in the FA Cup and Aston Villa away on the 30th, we have a kind run of Premier League fixtures that will determine whether or not our league season gets back on track. From February onwards, eight of our next 10 feature winnable games against Luton, Forest, Bournemouth, Wolves, Palace, West Ham, Everton and Fulham. That is a huge opportunity to reignite our push towards the European places after we slipped to 10th over the weekend, not to mention the FA Cup; which carries greater importance now we're out of Europe and the Carabao Cup.

Whether it's Phillips, another domestic loan, a summer target we may be able to sign this month (just like Anthony Gordon last January) or an overseas player able to give us something different for the next five months, we are in desperate need of new additions and a mid-season boost.

I get that our owners, Darren Eales and other decision makers don't want to burn too much money on Kalvin Phillips and I fully understand why we'd refuse a £7m loan fee, huge wages and an obligation to buy for £40m, but the financial damage of no Europe next season must also be considered. And that feels a very real possibility if we don't strengthen in the final two weeks of the window. That's not to say we should pay stupid money on any old signing - we are right to walk away from the Phillips deal if City's terms don't budge - but it feels like we need someone. Going without wouldn't just be risky, it would be asking for an unsuccessful start to 2024 that could have consequences for 2024/25. 

It's not just about the financial damage of no Europe next season. Would some of our star players become unsettled and have their heads turned? Could we attract our top summer targets without the lure of European football? It would have a big knock-on effect. Yes, this exciting project was always going to endure bumps in the road and growing pains, I just hope we don't simply save now to spend in the summer, when our the remainder of our season and ability to attract this summer could be harmed by a failure to strengthen this month.

Our owners are right to be wary of FFP/PSR and may be 'process driven', meaning they'll often avoid expensive short-term fixes that feel like panic buys or wasted money. However, paying a sizeable loan fee - whether that be on Phillips or someone else - won't be bad business if it's the difference between Europe and missing out altogether in five months time.