Newcastle Transfers: 8 Players McClaren Must Sign In January

When Newcastle United fans sing Auld Lang Syne on the stroke of midnight Thursday, they may well reflect back on 2015 as being one of the worst years in the modern history of Newcastle United. Two utterly clueless teams fielded under respective head coaches John Carver and Steve McClaren (both of whom had different philosophies on how their teams should play that were both remarkably as inept as each other... but hey remember, they are world class and experienced coaches) have seen Newcastle end the 2014/15 season surviving relegation by the skin of their teeth and that same outcome for the 2015/16 season looking like the absolute best the club can hope for. Rewind the clock just 12 months and Newcastle were sitting pretty in 10th and even talking up Europe as a possibility (Carver even having the gall to suggest Champions League was a realistic target during his introductory press conference) and optimism was high that the end of Alan Pardew's tired reign would yield a new era from "one of our own". Yes, ultimately Carver sank quicker than the Titanic but how much was to blame on Mike Ashley not backing his new manager when the obvious frailties of his squad were evident to see? Given Newcastle's stature in the table, fans can rest assured the same mistake won't happen this January and money will be spent to try and get them out of their latest fine mess. When in a similar position three years ago, United spent £17.4 million on a spread of six players that included Yanga-Mbiwa (£6.7 million), Debuchy (£5 million) Sissoko (£1.8 million), Gouffran (£1.2 million) and Haidara (£2 million) and the added quality meant they survived relegation by 5 points. All Newcastle fans would take that same 16th position in a heartbeat right now but what players should The Magpies be looking to spend their £17.4 million+ on this January transfer window? Here's 8 players that must be on Steve McClaren's shopping list;