Eddie Howe has said he wants to have a conversation with Matty Longstaff about a potential recall from his loan at Aberdeen.
His time in Scotland has not gone to plan so far and that has raised the prospect of him returning to Newcastle in January.
Howe was asked about Longstaff at his pre-match press conference before the visit of Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
Howe has preferred a central midfield duo of Jonjo Shelvey and Joe Willock since arriving at Newcastle.
Longstaff does have energy but there were doubts over whether he is Premier League quality, especially with Howe looking to play more technical football.
But there is a player in there if Howe can get his confidence back and get something approaching his best out of him.
Newcastle fans might have been hoping that the January window would bring about some more exciting transfer business than loan recalls.
But Howe needs players he can trust and rely on and if he decides to bring Longstaff back then he will get the chance to be proven right.
If Longstaff did get recalled to go on loan again, a move to the Championship would make the most logical sense.
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