Newcastle United's recruitment team are keeping an eye on the bigger picture when it comes to the transfer market - and looking beyond merely Eddie Howe's needs for the January window.
Howe himself has stated that things "could change" in the current trading period with work still to be done on potential departures and incoming squad players that can challenge his first-team. However, the window has already resulted in two potential deals ahead of the summer window.
Certainly the days of panic signings such as Islam Slimani, Nabil Bentaleb, Shefki Kuqi, Henri Saivet and Stephen Ireland appear to be behind the club. Structured and purposeful planning on transfers seems to be the order of the day now with Garang Kuol's arrival already showing long-term vision is vital as he prepares to join Hearts on loan.
