With the January transfer window in its final week, there is belated movement on that front at Newcastle United.
Rafa Benitez has pleaded for significant reinforcements in the last 12 months and it looks as though his wish will now be granted.
Kenedy has arrived on loan from Chelsea, while Sandro Ramirez of Everton could follow on a similar temporary deal. The big news is of a potentially club-record-breaking bid for Feyenoord’s Nicolai Jorgensen, though.
Having identified three players who are yet to deliver in the Premier League, Benitez’s choices look a little risky – but the logic seems clear.
Upon welcoming Kenedy to Tyneside, Benitez hailed the Brazilian’s ability to play “as a winger, a wing back and also as an offensive left full back”.
Sandro and Jorgensen are similarly versatile, with both capable of taking up a role as a target man or creating from deeper or in wide areas.
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After relying largely on a 4-2-3-1 – or being forced to play Matt Ritchie out of position in a back five – Benitez now has options. He is adding tactical flexibility as well as quality.
Kenedy is a natural option as a left wing back and, with DeAndre Yedlin on the opposite flank, Newcastle’s defence will have some real balance for – quite possibly – the first time since Habib Beye’s 2009 departure.
Meanwhile, the signing of one or both of Sandro and Jorgensen would present further possibilities still, either replacing the current front men or offering a goal threat from out wide.
Most clubs at the bottom of the Premier League would merely look for an injection of class in this window, but most clubs at the bottom do not have Benitez in the dugout.
Newcastle’s Champions League-winning manager is at his best when executing complex tactical manoeuvres. He now has that option.