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Having failed to get some of their targets in the summer transfer window Newcastle seem well placed for some bargains in the January transfer window.

Most of the players Newcastle are pursuing are in the last year of their contracts and so could be picked up relatively cheaply come January. This is true for Wayne Bridge, Lucas Neill and Mark Viduka, who were targets for Newcastle in the summer. Sylvain Distin would also be available from Manchester City and would be a good capture for our problemetic center back position.

Let’s not wait to the last minute to get these targets - hopefully Roeder and Shepherd are working right now to tie up some of these targets, where possible, and Newcastle fans will be hoping the club is at least in the top eight come January so we can make a push for the top six, which is a must this season.

Giuseppi Rossi (Joe Red) jetted into Manchester last night after playing for Italy under 21s for the first 45 minutes in a 1-0 win over Iceland in Forli. Without even kicking a ball for Newcastle he is already talking about extending his loan spell at Newcastle through the end of the season. That’s good news for Newcastle, particularly when Wayne Rooney has indicated he’s an exciting prospect and the best finisher on the Manchester United books, praise indeed from one of England’s best players. The loan spell could be a match made in heaven - Rossi will get plenty of playing time and Newcastle need someone with natural goal-scoring ability to replace the injured Michael Owen.

Michael is currently in Colorado having been operated on Wednesday on his cruciate ligament. His surgeon, Dr. Richard Steadman has successfully operated on both Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy in the past and is probably the top surgeons in the world on these types of injuries. The operation was completed successfully and both Dr. Steadman and Dr. Roddy MacDonald, the Newcastle doctor, are delighted at the outcome. Now the hard grind back to fitness begins, but Michael is as upbeat as ever, and may just be able to get a few games in at the end of the season.

Not surprisingly Newcastle have decided against pursuing Diego Tristan, the Spanish striker. Certainly our last signing from Spain, Albert Luque, has yet to produce the form suggesting he is anywhere near the 9.5M pounds Newcastle paid for him. With Rossi at least indicating he would be willing to extend his stay, the last thing we need now is an unnecessary signing.