The Northern Echo round up the latest transfer window news involving Newcastle United, Sunderland and Middlesbrough

NEWCASTLE

Forget the search for a new manager, if it’s January and it’s Newcastle United, one of the main topics for conversation has to be who is going to be sold next.

Twelve months ago it was Yohan Cabaye heading through Newcastle Airport’s departure lounge for France, and this time around it’s Moussa Sissoko who is scouring Expedia for the best-value one-way ticket to Paris.

The French rumour mill cranked into action yesterday suggesting Paris St Germain were in “advanced talks” for the midfielder, claims that were quickly rebuffed by senior sources at Newcastle.

The Northern Echo:

Cabaye was repeatedly “going nowhere” before he was sold though, and with the noise around Sissoko increasing by the day, there’s every chance of Paris St Germain giving Mike Ashley a difficult decision to make come the end of the month.

On the one hand, the Newcastle owner will have to decide whether his club can survive the loss of their best player for the second January transfer window in a row. On the other, he’ll have to weigh up how he’d like to spend €20m.

What do you think he’ll decide?

Likelihood rating: ***

Not quite as dramatic as a possible departure for Sissoko, but Adam Campbell also looks like heading out of Tyneside this month to join Ashley’s latest toy, Rangers, on loan.

Having already had a loan spell at St Mirren, Campbell has experience of playing in Scotland, and Rangers are desperately in need of some firepower as they attempt to close the gap on Hearts at the top of the Championship.

The Northern Echo:

Ashley’s ongoing power struggle at Ibrox is getting messier by the hour, so the arrival of a couple of loan signings could help appease some of the fans who are actively campaigning against his ownership of the club.

Given Campbell’s dreadful record while on loan at Hartlepool, however, it’s debatable whether his move to Glasgow would enhance Ashley’s position or not.

Likelihood rating: ****

 

SUNDERLAND

The Black Cats are looking at defenders and strikers this month, with Celtic’s Virgil van Dijk heading the list of targets in the former category.

The Dutchman, who can play at centre-half or full-back, has been attracting admiring glances for a number of English clubs for a while now, and it’ll be interesting to see who makes the first move.

Everton are understood to be willing to match Celtic’s anticipated asking price of around £8m, so it remains to be seen whether Gus Poyet can persuade Sunderland sporting director Lee Congerton to go as high.

The Northern Echo: Virgil van Dijk, right, celebrates his first Celtic goal

Van Dijk would be a welcome arrival, partly because he would improve a Sunderland backline that has looked shaky on a number of occasions this season, and partly because it would be interesting to see which member of Sunderland’s squad would be the first to nickname him Dick.

Likelihood rating: ***

At the opposite end of the field, the name of Yaya Sanogo has been linked with the Black Cats in recent days, and not simply because the Arsenal striker boasts a similar goalscoring record to Jozy Altidore given that he has scored no goals from 11 Premier League appearances.

In fairness to the 21-year-old, he’s only started twice, and with his opportunities at the Emirates likely to be limited in the second half of the season, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is willing to loan him out this month.

The Northern Echo: Yaya Sanogo, right, scores his first for Arsenal in the win over Benfica

Sunderland would definitely be interested, with a loan move offering the chance for Congerton to keep his powder dry before looking for a longer-term solution to the club’s goalscoring problem in the summer.

Likelihood rating: ****

Remember Danny Graham? That’s right, the North-East lad who played a few games up front before disappearing off the face of the earth. Or ‘heading to Hull’ as it’s also known.

Well he’s back on Sunderland’s books following the end of a loan spell at Wolves, but is set to leave again in order to link back up with Malky Mackay at Wigan.

The Northern Echo: ON HIS WAY? Danny Graham could join Hull City

Mackay worked with Graham at Watford, and sees the 29-year-old as a better option than his current strike force, which is built around the questionable assets of Marc-Antoine Fortune.

Likelihood rating: *****

 

MIDDLESBROUGH

As if they didn’t have enough loan players already, Middlesbrough have been linked with a possible move for Manchester United youngster Nick Powell.

Powell spent the first half of the season on loan at Leicester, but barely featured at the King Power Stadium and has subsequently returned to Old Trafford.

The Northern Echo: Manchester United have signed midfielder Nick Powell on a four-year deal from Crewe

Boro’s fondness for loan signings means they’re an obvious club to link Premier League youngsters to, but this move seems unlikely. Boro don’t really need another attacking midfielder, and Aitor Karanka hasn’t shown much interest in Manchester United’s youngsters in the past, preferring to utilise his links elsewhere.

Likelihood rating: *

Some disappointing news to finish with, with confirmation that Rhys Williams has undergone surgery to repair an “extremely rare” Achilles problem. Hopefully, the former Boro skipper will not be sidelined for as long this time around.

Meanwhile, the home game with Cardiff City has been rearranged for Tuesday, January 20.