Here are your top Newcastle United headlines for January 20.
Wood's impending exit
Eddie Howe has revealed that he would ideally like to replace Chris Wood with a forward who is 'ready to play' for Newcastle United right away.
Howe did not plan on losing Wood, who has featured in all but two of Newcastle's Premier League games this season, but the Magpies boss was keen to respect the striker's wishes and allow him to join Nottingham Forest. Although Wood will move to Forest on loan initially, Steve Cooper's side are obliged to make the temporary move permanent if certain triggers are met, as expected, in the coming months in what is a 'very good' deal financially for Newcastle.
That leaves Newcastle with the challenge of finding a replacement in the final 11 days of the window who can hit the ground running while also playing a part in the club's future in the years to come.
You can read the full story here.
Bruno update
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe says he has no return date for Bruno Guimaraes - but says the injured Brazil international has made "good progress" this week.
Bruno will be missing from the squad for the trip to Crystal Palace but it remains to be seen whether he makes it back in time for the two-legged tie against Southampton next week in the League Cup. Bruno came off the field in tears after picking up an ankle injury in the 1-0 win against Fulham.
Howe, speaking at his Press conference, said: "He was devastated to come off the pitch. I probably think he thought at the time he had serious damage to his ankle. The scan did come back with positive news and hopefully it's not a long-term injury."
You can read the full story here.
Gallagher boost
Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira says his side have no plans to try and re-sign Conor Gallagher this month. The Chelsea midfielder once enjoyed a fruitful loan spell at Selhurst Park with speculation rife the south London side were set to try and secure a reunion before the end of January.
However, Vieira insists this is not the case which hands Newcastle United a big opportunity to pounce. Gallagher is one of three Chelsea stars rumoured to be catching the eye of those in control of transfers on Tyneside.
The 22-year-old midfielder would be a welcomed addition at St James' Park as Eddie Howe seeks to bolster his options in the middle of the park. Chelsea have remained tight-lipped as to whether they would be open to selling the youngster this month but Palace will not be in the race to sign him if he is allowed to depart Stamford Bridge.
You can read the full story here.
Lingard's fury
Jesse Lingard has revealed that he was 'p-----' when Manchester United prevented him from joining Newcastle United on loan when the deal was 'done'.
Lingard wanted to move to Newcastle a year ago in an effort to get some much-needed game time ahead of the World Cup. Eddie Howe was a long-term admirer of Lingard's, but Manchester United were wary of letting the attacking midfielder go - even though he was approaching the final months of his contract.
Manchester United demanded an eye-watering survival bonus on top of the loan fee and, although Newcastle attempted to resurrect the move on deadline day, the Red Devils were fearful of being low on numbers after suspending Mason Greenwood just a day earlier.
You can read the full story here.
Longstaff's journey
Eddie Howe is confident that Sean Longstaff will add goals to his game as Newcastle United's Champions League push gathers pace.
The 25-year-old midfielder has one goal to his name this term after scoring in the 4-1 win at Fulham and has also provided two assists for his team-mates. But his midfield duties this season have not just boiled down to his contributions in the final third.
Longstaff's tackling statistics and interception rate is up this season and the player is impressing with aerial battles. The midfielder picked up the Chronicle Live man of the match award in the 1-0 win over Fulham after a tireless display.
You can read the full story here.
Darlow interest
Karl Darlow has half a dozen clubs in the SkyBet Championship that are ready to take him on loan for the second half of the season.
The former Nottingham Forest goalkeeper is likely to depart this month - but a loan exit rather than a permanent deal seems on the cards. Chronicle Live has learned that Darlow is not pushing for a move this month because he loves the club and enjoys working with Eddie Howe.
It is believed that Darlow has told Howe that he is prepared to wait for any loan move in the next few days until Newcastle's League Cup final fate is known. It means that Darlow could be available for bench duty for the trip to Southampton in the semi-final first leg while the return date could also be interesting.
The second leg is also transfer deadline day and Darlow could spend the last few hours of the window on cup duty. For now Darlow has trained with the senior squad and despite confirmation of Loris Karius remaining at Newcastle, he is still very much of day-to-day life at Benton.
You can read the full story here.
Conte's swipe
Antonio Conte has admitted that his Tottenham side face a tough battle against Newcastle United to finish in the Champions League places, after he claimed that "medium-low" teams are spending money on important players.
Manchester City reminded everyone why they are very much still in the title race during a scintillating second-half display against Spurs on Thursday night. Pep Guardiola's side found themselves 2-0 down at half-time thanks to goals from Dejan Kulusevski and Emerson Royal.
After the break, the reigning champions came out with a vengeance and within eight minutes of the game's resumption, they were back level. Boos during the interval from the Etihad crowd soon turned to cheers as City added two more through the game's man catalyst Riyad Mahrez.
The result ensured Newcastle kept their five gap to Spurs in fourth place with a game in hand on Conte's side. The Italian is far too aware of the uphill battle his squad face when trying to break into the top-four as he bemoaned the level of competitiveness in the English top-flight and spending power of the clubs around him.
You can read the full story here.
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