Newcastle Transfers: 9 Forwards Pardew Must Consider In January

5. Wilfried Zaha (Manchester United)

Back in mid-December, the Mail Online were reporting that Newcastle had all but finalised a loan deal for the sometimes England international winger, stating that he would be the man to fill Alan Pardew's remaining domestic loan slot when the winter window opened. The Magpies were, according to the same report, in the running to sign Zaha permanently before Man Utd steamed in with a £15m offer, and the speedy winger would be a good option to play as part of Newcastle's forward line, feeding Loic Remy and Yoan Gouffran, and profiting from the overlapping play of flying full-backs Mathieu Debuchy, Davide Santon and Massadio Haidara. Zaha needs an opportunity to prove he is worthy of a Man Utd shirt, and playing at Newcastle would represent a good chance to do so, with a higher quality of football than he would be offered at Crystal Palace, who have emerged more recently as favourites to take him back on loan (according to the Mirror.) A move to Palace might look more appealing right now, with the confidence boost of being a bigger fish in a smaller pond again, but if he is an option, Pardew should look at bringing him to the North East temporarily.