Howe reveals January transfer wish as Toon plan recruitment talks

Several signings arrived over the summer, with Woltemade, Wissa, Elanga, Ramsey, Thiaw and Ramsdale all joining. However, it was a chaotic end to a difficult window, and it’s fair to say some of those additions have made limited impact so far.

Heading into January, discussion has emerged on our need for suitable full-back cover, creativity in midfield and potentially another attacker should Will Osula leave following strong links to Frankfurt.

As we near the winter window, Eddie Howe has been asked about our January plans, where the boss has hinted at his desire to freshen up the squad and be “active” in the market, should finances allow for incomings:

“I would always love to keep the squad fresh. That will be a feeling that you have from within.

“Every window, our outlook is to be active. How that looks, I’ve got no idea. Finances, I haven’t had those discussions yet, but we will do in the next few days.

“We haven’t had discussions yet, but we will, and we will very soon because we need to be across everything that’s going to happen in January. You never quite know what the month will look like.

“You can have a vision of it being quiet or the opposite, and then the reality can be very different. So, we need to be across it, we need to be prepared for all eventualities.”

AZ Alkmaar’s Kees Smit has been regularly linked over the past few weeks, with a January move deemed one to watch in an attempt to beat European rivals to the highly-rated Dutch midfielder.

Elliot Anderson appears to be a non-starter, while links to Conor Gallagher and Scott McTominay have also emerged over the past fortnight.