Burdened with the threat of relegation, Newcastle fans were gearing up for a rare January of investment to help stave off the threat of relegation.
A centre-back, a right-back, a left-back, a central midfielder and a striker needed to be signed if the Magpies were to give themselves the best chance of top-flight survival.
Sound familiar?
In January 2013, Mike Ashley was forced to get his chequebook out as Newcastle hovered just two points above the relegation zone despite finishing 5th the previous season.
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Demba Ba’s £7million transfer to Chelsea was just days away... but talk of a French Revolution on Tyneside had started to emerge.
Headhunted by chief scout Graham Carr, Newcastle signed five players to bolster their threadbare squad - a move that paid dividends as the Magpies beat the drop by five points and reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
ChronicleLive revisits that historic window and finds out what those signings are up to now…
Matthieu Debuchy
Coincidentally, Newcastle’s first breakthrough that year was also a right-back as French international Debuchy joined from Lille.
Debuchy left Lille after 10 years and came to Tyneside with a fierce reputation, having almost made the switch the previous summer.
He made 46 appearances for the Magpies before being sold to Arsenal for £12million, where his career stalled drastically.
The man Debuchy replaced, Danny Simpson, went on to become a Premier League champion with Leicester in 2016… a sign that Newcastle made the wrong decision, perhaps?
Now 36-year-old, Debuchy is still playing for second-tier French side Valenciennes.
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa
The Magpies followed up on Debuchy’s arrival by signing a centre-back, another irony if rumours regarding the club’s next transfer target are to be believed.
Yanga-Mbiwa arrived at St James’ Park with serious pedigree after winning Ligue 1 with Montpellier 18 months earlier.
At 23-years-old, he was billed as the future of Newcastle’s backline but, like many who came before him, failed to realise his true potential on Tyneside.
He went on to have a solid career at European giants Roma and Lyon, making 21 appearances in the Champions League while at both clubs.
Following a string of injuries, he was released by Lyon in 2020 and, at just 32-years-old, his playing career appears to be over.
Yoan Gouffran
Signed for less than £1million from Bordeaux, Gouffran quickly became a fans favourite on Tyneside.
Despite not being blessed with world-beating ability or having a particularly outstanding goal record, Toon fans appreciated his hard work and versatility during his four-year stint at the club.
Gouffran was largely absent from the side that was relegated under Steve McClaren in 2016 but played his part in achieving promotion the following season - scoring five goals in 30 games.
The forward announced his retirement from football in October last year after spells in Turkey and Armenia.
Massadio Haidara
Like Yanga-Mbiwa, Haidara was dubbed as one for the future but he was never able to flourish or attain a regular run in the side at St James’ Park.
The French U21 international was the victim of a shocking challenge by Wigan’s Callum McManaman just two months into his Newcastle career - a tackle he never really recovered from.
He remained on the periphery for the next five years, with his contract expiring in 2018.
Happily for Haidara, he has since rebuilt his stalling career at French side Lens, where he enjoys regular first-team football playing in Ligue 1.
Moussa Sissoko
Toon fans saw Sissoko as the pick of the bunch after Newcastle managed to snap him up from Toulouse for a measly £1.5million.
An incredible home debut against Chelsea - where he bagged a brace to earn man of the match - had supporters thinking they had signed the next Yaya Toure.
That was, unfortunately, as good as it got for Sissoko at Newcastle, as numerous position changes prevented him from showcasing his full abilities as consistently as Magpies fans would have liked.
He remained a France regular while at Newcastle despite the club’s indifferent league finishes.
Spurs came calling following relegation in 2016 and Mike Ashley must have been laughing all the way to the bank when the £30million offer landed on his desk.
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