It’s taken 15 Premier League games, but Newcastle finally got their first win of the 2021/22 season against Burnley this weekend.
The win even took them off the foot of the table and gives them the same points as the Clarets and Norwich City, with all three now just one win from safety.
With only a few games between now and the opening of the January transfer window, Eddie Howe will surely be weighing up the possibilities regarding what players might be available on either short or long-term deals.
The Magpies need to be defensively solid to get themselves out of the mire, and one pundit believes he knows just the solution.
MORE: Michael Owen’s brutal statement
“You’ve seen already that Zouma has been allowed to leave Chelsea. You never say never but it would be a shock,” Noel Whelan said to Football Insider.
“There are teams out there that need centre-half replacements. I’m looking at Newcastle for one.
“You could probably build a team around him at centre-half. He’s an amazing player and could be one of the pieces that Eddie Howe is looking for.
“But look, I mean, Joe Gomez seems to sort of player that wants to fight for his place before anything else.
“He’ll only think about his future with Liverpool if he’s not required.”
There’s no suggestion whatsoever that Liverpool would even entertain the prospect of selling the centre-back, though as Whelan suggests, you can never say never in football.
Gomez would almost certainly shore up the Magpies back line, and give Howe some security as he looks to keep getting the wins to allow Newcastle to enjoy another season in the Premier League.