Newcastle United managed to stop the rot and undoubtedly put some confidence back in themselves following a comfortable Tynewear Derby victory over bitter rivals Sunderland in the FA Cup on Saturday.
However, there is no respite for Eddie Howe and his players who face Manchester City and Aston Villa over their next two outings in the Premier League.
While a win over the Black Cats was great for morale, the Magpies need to strengthen in January if they are to have any chance of clawing back 11 points on the top four.
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Nevertheless, Howe is reportedly looking to sign a new winger by the end of the winter transfer window.
Newcastle United transfer news – Raphinha
According to a report from Sport, via Sport Witness, Newcastle United have a chance to sign Barcelona star Raphinha this month.
The outlet is claiming that the Spanish champions are growing frustrated with the Brazilian's inability to kick on under head coach Xavi, having arrived from Leeds United for £55m back in 2022.
It was revealed before the summer transfer window opened that Newcastle were eyeing up a move for Raphinha but no transfer ever came to fruition, although the player is now said to have a market value of £52m, as per the CIES Football Observatory.
Raphinha has since become a mere squad player with the Catalan giants, having seen 887 minutes of action in total this season across 18 appearances, which equates to roughly 49 minutes per match.
Nevertheless, Raphinha still has a lot to offer on a football pitch and was even recently described as a winger with a "killer instinct" by journalist and online analyst Domagoj Kostanjsak. Now, the attacker could be on his way to St. James' Park.
Raphinha's stats comparison vs Miguel Almiron
Incidentally, Newcastle United fans may be grateful to see Raphinha in their own side for once as the Magpies have picked up merely one victory from a possible four against the Brazil international.
Furthermore, Raphinha got himself on the scoresheet twice at St James' Park and recorded one assist in these matches.
16th Dec 2020
0
0
Leeds 5-2 Newcastle
26th Jan 2021
1
1
Newcastle 2-1 Leeds
17th Sep 2021
1
0
Newcastle 1-1 Leeds
22nd Jan 2022
0
0
Leeds 0-1 Newcastle
Stats via Transfermarkt
The right-wing position has been a problem area for Howe this season. Due to the lengthy absence of Jacob Murphy, the manager has been forced into using Miguel Almiron on the right side of the attack.
However, the Paraguayan has had a less than fruitful season for the Magpies, registering just two assists and bagging five goals in 30 appearances, although half of his assists came in the Tynewear Derby against an inferior Sunderland side.
Meanwhile, star striker Alexander Isak has been having a decent run of form recently, scoring four times in three matches but half of these goals came from the penalty spot.
From open play, the Swede has bagged just twice in his last eight appearances. One of the reasons for this is his lack of service up top, particularly from his right winger. Almiron currently boasts an average of 0.09 expected assists per 90, meaning the chances he creates are of very low quality.
Isak would love to play with someone like Raphinha who has registered seven assists already this season for Barcelona and is greatly outperforming Almiron in the final third.
Goals
0.31
0.22
Expected Goals
0.51
0.27
Assists
0.61
0.13
Expected Assists
0.49
0.09
Key Passes
2.96
0.97
Crosses
5.61
1.04
Passes To Penalty Area
2.65
1.08
Passes To Final Third
2.35
1.79
Raphinha is a chance creation machine and is a much better player right now than Almiron, based on this stats table. He would help Isak reach a whole other level and the opportunity to bring him back to England shouldn't be snuffed at by Howe.