NEWCASTLE UNITED have inquired about the potential availability of Manchester City midfielder Fabian Delph and Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson as they look to strengthen their squad with some Premier League loan deals.

Magpies manager Rafael Benitez, who has also made an initial approach for Chelsea youngster Ruben Loftus-Cheek, is keen to make two or three additions during next month’s transfer window in order to ensure his squad is capable of coping with any eventuality in the second half of the season.

His interest in Delph pre-dates Jonjo Shelvey’s five-game suspension for racially-aggravated abuse, although Newcastle’s lacklustre performance without their key midfielder on Boxing Day has underlined the need to reinforce the central area.

With Cheick Tiote finally expected to leave Tyneside next month, Benitez is keen to add an experienced central midfielder to his squad, and Delph is his preferred option even though a loan deal for the England international would represent a significant financial outlay given the scale of his current wages at Manchester City.

Delph has barely featured under Pep Guardiola this season, with his only Premier League involvement amounting to a sum total of 28 minutes from the substitutes’ bench. He has not played any senior football since the end of August, and is keen to leave the Etihad Stadium next month in order to get his career back on track.

Guardiola will not stand in his way, but Newcastle will have to persuade the 27-year-old it is worth dropping down to the Championship when he is likely to attract alternative offers from the top-flight.

It will be even more difficult to engineer a deal for Wilson, although senior Newcastle sources suggest the club’s initial soundings about the Bournemouth striker have been reasonably well received.

Wilson was on the Magpies’ attacking radar in the summer, after he finished last season with five Premier League goals to his name despite having been sidelined for more than six months because of a serious injury.

In the previous campaign, the 24-year-old claimed 23 goals as Bournemouth secured promotion from the Championship, and his proven record in the second tier is a key attraction as Benitez looks to secure a viable alternative to leading goalscorer Dwight Gayle.

Benitez clearly has his reservations about Aleksandar Mitrovic, and the Serb could even be allowed to leave Tyneside next month if Newcastle were to receive an offer of more than £10m. Daryl Murphy has barely featured since joining Newcastle from Ipswich in the summer, and Benitez does not regard the former Sunderland striker as a like-for-like alternative to Gayle.

Wilson is a much more similar forward, and while he has scored five goals this season, he has been unable to hold down a regular place in Bournemouth’s starting team. Nevertheless, Cherries boss Eddie Howe would be extremely reluctant to lose him next month.

Antonio Conte is willing to allow Loftus-Cheek to leave Stamford Bridge, although the Chelsea manager wants to see exactly who is interested in the midfielder before deciding on his preferred destination for a loan move.

Newcastle’s handling of Christian Atsu has been well received amongst the Chelsea hierarchy, but Conte could decide that Loftus-Cheek would benefit from a spell at a team in the Premier League if, as looks likely, he is offered such a move next month.

Meanwhile, Brighton boss Chris Hughton claims his side’s experience of a Championship promotion battle could give them the edge over Newcastle in the second half of the season.

Brighton missed out on a place in the Premier League by the narrowest possible margin when they finished behind Middlesbrough on goal difference last season, and having subsequently lost in the play-offs, Hughton claims the experience is driving his players forward as they attempt to ensure they do not suffer similar disappointment this time around.

Brighton leapfrogged Newcastle at the top of the table as they cruised to a 3-0 win over QPR on Tuesday, and play Cardiff City on Friday night at the same time that the Magpies will be hosting Nottingham Forest.

“There’s a resilience in the squad, there’s no doubt about that,” said Hughton, who guided Newcastle to the Championship title in 2010. “It’s come from the experience of last season, and we also recruited well in the summer.

“I think we’re stronger as a squad than last season, and there’s a real desire at this club at the moment. We’re very conscious of how difficult this league is, and how tough these games are, but at the moment we’re doing very well.”