NEWCASTLE UNITED will almost certainly not be making any additions during the January transfer window.

The Magpies have won just one of their last seven matches and have looked extremely short of attacking firepower in the absence of Papiss Cisse, who is set to miss at least another fortnight as he represents Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations.

They are also short of defensive cover, yet managing director Lee Charnley has revealed there is no desire to strengthen the squad before the transfer window closes at the start of next month.

Charnley said: "The January window is not one we ever envisaged being particularly active in. That’s partly because of the amount of business we did in the summer but also because. January is a difficult market to operate in.

"There are very few options whereby a club can achieve the quality required and also get value. There is often a reason as to why a player might be available in January.

"We were forced to bring players in a couple of years ago in January because of where we were in the league and some of those transactions we brought forward from the following summer at significant cost. As a general principle, January’s not an attractive window.

"Another important thing to note and something often not mentioned is Premier League teams are only allowed to name 25 players – we’re currently at 25."

Charnley does not expect there to be any departures this month, although with both Arsenal and Paris St Germain continuing to be linked with Moussa Sissoko, the Magpies chief has refused to categorically rule out someone leaving St James' Park before the February 2 deadline.

He said: "I would never, ever rule out selling anyone because the worst thing I could do is over-promise and under-deliver. You will never, ever get me saying never but I would say we’re very difficult sellers.

"We make it very difficult for people to get our players. We put them on long-term contracts. We are not easy sellers, despite that perception. I can’t envisage any player we want to retain leaving."