Newcastle returned to the top of the Championship on Friday following a 3-1 win over Nottingham Forest at St James’ Park.
The Magpies got back to winning ways following defeat at home to Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day, and they now lead Chris Hughton’s Brighton by a point after the Seagulls’ game at home to Cardiff was postponed due to fog.
It means that Rafa Benitez’s team are well-placed to win promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking following last season’s disastrous top-flight campaign.
Newcastle are currently nine points clear of third place Reading, and they visit Blackburn Rovers on Monday in a bid to solidify their position at the top.
The Magpies have been excellent so far this season, and several players have stood out and deserve recognition for their consistently high level performances.
With the likes of Dwight Gayle, Jonjo Shelvey, and Matt Ritchie making the move down to the second tier in a bid to help Newcastle achieve an immediate return, there are a few other players that have upped their game this season, and may well be attracting interest from the top-flight in next month’s transfer window.
Thus, here are TWO Newcastle stars who deserve a Premier League move in January…
Karl Darlow
Photo: Paul Roberts / Offside.
He didn’t start the season as Newcastle’s number one goalkeeper, but Karl Darlow is certainly top of the pecking order now.
The former Nottingham Forest shot-stopper replaced Matz Sels in their 4-3 win over Norwich back in September, and since then has been the first choice between the sticks at St James’ Park.
In his subsequent 14 league starts, Darlow has kept six clean sheets, and was particularly impressive in their 2-1 victory at Preston back in October, and he also saved two penalties in Newcastle’s loss at Forest earlier this month.
He has proven to be an excellent shot-stopper and is growing in confidence every game he plays, so it wouldn’t be at all surprising if Premier League sides were interested in the 26-year-old next month.
Jamaal Lascelles
Photo: Marc Atkins / Offside.
The Newcastle captain has been in fine form for the Magpies so far this season, and has been a big part of a defence which has conceded just 18 goals in the Championship thus far.
The 23-year-old moved from Nottingham Forest in 2014 but was loaned back to the City Ground for the rest of the 2014/15 campaign.
He didn’t feature greatly under Steve McClaren last season, yet Lascelles became a regular under Benitez when he came in during their ill-fated Premier League campaign, and the Spaniard placed his faith in the former England Under-21 international by making him captain for this season.
And the centre-back hasn’t disappointed, and has easily been one of the best defenders in the league so far, which has unsurprisingly alerted some top clubs about his availability in January.
Premier League leaders Chelsea were linked with the 23-year-old, who has certainly done enough to suggest that he deserves a move to the top-flight in January.