Newcastle United seem set to really flex their newfound financial muscles during the January transfer window and they could be looking to the Championship to bolster their survival prospects. 

It appears Eddie Howe is keen to boost Newcastle’s survival chances in the Premier League by investing in a new forward that could come in and add vital goals for them in the second half of the campaign. Without an injection of extra quality upfront for them and also some signings elsewhere it does seem likely that they will be heading for the Championship. 

Newcastle have already recently been reported by The Sun to be holding an interest in Stoke City forward Tyrese Campbell ahead of the January window. It was suggested that Howe’s side could be willing to tempt the Potters into cashing in on one of their most important assets by offering a fee of around £20 million for him in the winter window. 

Losing Campbell would obviously be an enormous blow for Stoke at the midway stage of a season where they are seriously pushing to secure a place in the Championship’s top six. The forward might not have been fully fit for most of the first half of the campaign, but on his return to action in the last few weeks, he has underlined his quality and shown the added stardust he brings to their forward line.

Stoke have a precedent for selling players to Premier League clubs already with them having cashed in on Nathan Collins back in the summer when Burnley came calling. Therefore, it will have been a worry for supporters to see that Newcastle with their new financial wealth could potentially be ready to tempt them into selling Campbell in January. 

Michael O’Neill is unlikely to want Stoke’s board to sanction the sale of Campbell in the winter window. That would play a role in their decision on whether to accept any offer that could come their way from Newcastle. However, the Potters would ideally not want to have a distraction of having to focus on interest in the forward at all as they aim to focus on their form on the field.

To that end, it has been reported by Chronicle Live that Newcastle have now sent scouts to watch Luton Town forward Elijah Adebayo in action ahead of a potential move for the promising striker. That comes with him having been an impressive performer for the Hatters this term with him firing home ten goals in his opening 20 Championship appearances. 

It would be unlikely that Newcastle would be willing to sanction moves for both Campbell and Adebayo in January because they are both similar in terms of their profile at the moment. Therefore, if the Premier League side opted to pursue a move for Adebayo ahead of Campbell then it would mean that the Potters would be able to keep hold of one of their most important assets. 

Keeping hold of Campbell is going to be vital for Stoke, so if this interest from Newcastle in Adebayo turns into an actual transfer bid in January, the Potters will be able to breathe a sigh of relief.