Newcastle United are flying high in the Championship, with a three-point cushion over second-placed Brighton, and Rafael Benitez' side are odds-on to secure the title and an immediate return to the top-flight.

The Championship is notoriously competitive though and more testing challenges await in the coming months, especially with January on the horizon and a host of clubs looking to fix their respective issues by dipping into the transfer market.

Whilst it may not appear that Newcastle have any major issues to solve in the upcoming transfer window, Benitez will still need to strengthen the squad in the market and his side's standing will make it appealing to Premier League players who have not been given a fair chance this term.

Manchester United's squad is definitely worth a look at, with Jose Mourinho splashing £150m in the summer and not being known to rotate his squad, whilst the Portuguese boss is also not known to be a fan of youngsters.

That gives Newcastle the perfect target for a January raid and these two targets would be perfect.

Hit 'Begin Gallery' to see TWO players Newcastle should poach from the Red Devils!

Axel Tuanzebe

Manchester United fans have raved about 18-year-old defender Axel Tuanzebe for a while but the teenager hasn't quite broken through to the first-team this season - and it looks increasingly unlikely that Jose Mourinho will give him his chance.

The EFL Cup is the only perceivable route to action ahead of Tuanzebe but, with a maximum of four games between now and the end of the season, it wouldn't be wise to keep a player solely for use in this competition.

Whilst many would expect to see a rotated squad in the Europa League, United's woes domestically mean the European competition is the club's best chance of qualifying for the Champions League.

Therefore, a loan move for Tuanzebe to high-flying Newcastle would be a great option.

Phil Jones

phil-jonesss

The 24-year-old England international has made over 100 appearances for Manchester United but, having only returned from an injury lay-off this week, the forgotten man is yet to feature under new boss Jose Mourinho and has a tough task ahead of him.

Competition for places in the United squad is fierce and Jones has been criticised in recent seasons, which raises questions about his long-term suitability to the Red Devils.

If his signature did become available, then many top-flight club would swoop but Newcastle could be the perfect destination.

Jones could potentially become a future captain for the Magpies and would present a huge potential profit in the future, whilst it would get him the regular first-team football he needs.

It would be a major coup but stranger things have happened.