After being relegated from the Premier League, Newcastle were immediately tipped as favourites to be at the Championship summit come May.

The Magpies got off to a sluggish start, but it didn't take them long to find their feet, and they soon established themselves at the top of the table.

The Newcastle board stuck by Rafa Benitez and the Spaniard is repaying their faith in him.

Newcastle have opened up a seven point gap to third placed Leeds United and they look well placed to bounce back to the top flight at the first time of asking.

The summer signing of Dwight Gayle has proved to be a huge success for the Magpies.

Gayle has netted 20 goals for Newcastle this season, becoming the first player to do so since Alan Shearer 2003/04.

Benitez will undoubtedly be looking to bring in reinforcements this month to try and seal their immediate return to the Premier League.

However, the nature of bringing players in means that some players must leave.

Here, I will look at three players who'd be best off leaving St James' Park this month...

Sammy Ameobi

Ameobi spent the first part of the season on loan at Bolton but returned to the North-East earlier this month.

First team football opportunities look to be limited in the second half of the season if Ameobi is to remain at Newcastle.

He has several wingers ahead of him in the pecking order and with Newcastle pushing hard for promotion, they need quality, which Amoebi doesn't have in comparison with his competition.

A loan or permanent move back to Bolton would be a sensible move for Ameobi to continue his development.

Cheick Tiote

Tiote has been continuously linked with a move away from St James Park this month and Spanish side Sporting Gijon have been linked with a move for the Ivorian.

Tiote has been a huge player for Newcastle in recent years when they were in the Premier League, but under Rafa Benitez he seems to have fallen out of favour and the Spaniard is looking to ship him out.

Selling Tiote would allow Newcastle to allocate a wage and fee onto another signing, such as Townsend, who would offer more to the group than Tiote.

Haris Vuckic

Vuckic has been somewhat of a journeyman during his time at St James Park.

After signing for Newcastle in 2009, he has made just seven first team appearances and had five loan spells.

Vuckic spent the first half of this season on loan at Bradford City but his loan has expired and he has since returned to Newcastle, but it most likely won't be for long.

The Slovenian clearly isn't in Benitez's plans or he wouldn't have loaned him out at the beginning of the season.

It looks highly likely that Benitez will axe Vuckic this month.

Newcastle fans - would you get rid of these 3 players? Do any of them have a future at your club? Let us know in the comments below...