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Newcastle United’s summer spending is over – but the club insist that the project is not.

Lee Charnley’s intervention after the window shut was an encouraging pledge to keep investing – and Steve McClaren says the club will keep spending for the next three transfer windows “at least”, taking United through to January 2017.

So what will Newcastle look like by then? Our United writers look at who is on the radar and what Newcastle’s blueprint for the future might look at.

MARK DOUGLAS

The thing about Newcastle United’s scouting team is that they never forget.

Georginio Wijnaldum was a target in 2013 – he finally signed two years later. Florian Thauvin was signed three years after he first came on to the club’s radar. United tried to sign Loic Remy, he went to QPR and then eventually ended up at St James’ Park.

Newcastle’s modus operandi is to compile a transfer shortlist of a handful of realistic targets and not to deviate from them. United say they want to sign players who they believe in, so they will have big dossiers on potential signings. Those offered by agents tend to be rejected flatly.

When it comes off – as it did this summer – it looks impressive. When it doesn’t, and they miss out as they did last summer on Alexandre Lacazette and Remy, it poses problems. But with Wijnaldum and Thauvin proving United rarely give up, I’d say a few familiar names might be back on the radar in the next three transfer windows.

Lacazette will be one. The Lyon striker’s value is rising by the month but so is the Premier League’s spending power and when United jettison Papiss Cisse – and that day will have come and gone in the timeframe Lee Charnley is talking about – they will need a quick, talented forward.

Expect Saido Berahino to figure highly next summer – Newcastle had been talking to Aidy Ward about him in the early months of the summer, before he switched agents.

(Image: Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)

You might also see Joel Matip, talked about this summer but not bid for after Fabricio Coloccini re-signed, re-emerge at some point. That’s United’s way, and they will probably stick to the markets they know too. Spain, Germany, France, Belgium and maybe Switzerland will be looked at – with the Premier League’s increasing economic muscle a real boon.

Three areas are going to be key in the next three transfer windows: a new striker of genuine substance, a defender to replace Coloccini and another winger. With £50-60million to invest, United will aim to invest well.

Domestic targets were priced out of Newcastle’s reach this time around but names like Wolves’ promising defender Dominic Iorfa and Lewis Cook of Leeds might figure. Having been thwarted in the chase for Delle Ali, Newcastle would still like to bring in a good, domestic-based youngster who could develop.

And while United say they will continue to “invest”, let’s be realistic. This summer’s lack of departures won’t be maintained forever.

This squad still lacks a certain amount of balance and it may be considered time for Moussa Sissoko to leave next summer, especially if he fetches £20million that could potentially be re-invested in Borussia Monchengladbach’s superb Granit Xhaka – and someone who could give Newcastle real threat on either side of the wing. A name to watch is Ajax’s coveted Holland winger Anwar el-Gahzi.

I’d expect Cisse, Coloccini and possibly Sissoko to have gone by then. In a best-case scenario, Jamaal Lascelles, Adam Armstrong and Karl Darlow would all continue to develop.

POSSIBLE NUFC STARTING XI IN THREE TRANSFER WINDOWS: Krul; Janmaat, Mbemba, Lascelles, Jetro Willems; Aarons, Wijnaldum, Xhaka, Thauvin; Lacazette, Mitrovic.

CHRIS WAUGH

Eyebrows may be raised at the potential targets suggested here by some of the more sceptical supporters not yet ready to fully believe that Newcastle United have fully committed to their U-turn when it comes to their transfer policy.

That’s fair enough because, in reality, the club have merely performed a reverse manoeuvre and there are still two stages of a three-point turn to complete. But attitudes are changing at St James’ Park.

Steve McClaren has made it clear that his transfer strategy involves signing quality players rather than merely bulking up his squad with stop-gap additions, and that will be the club’s policy going forward.

Florian Thauvin is a player Graham Carr courted for longer than he probably cares to remember – it is the Bastia starlet who Newcastle hope to have signed, and not the hit-and-miss winger who played for Marseille last season. Georginio Wijnaldum was another who the Magpies had long kept their prying eyes on.

So, with that in mind, Newcastle will attempt to spend their £60million-plus on long-held targets in the coming 12-18 months. Though the majority of that cash is likely to be reserved until next summer – Lee Charnley is not an advocate of the January window – I still think at least one first-team player will be brought in to bolster the current crop for the rest of the campaign.

That man could well be Joel Matip, whose contract at Schalke 04 expires at the end of the season and who may become Fabricio Coloccini’s long-term successor.

(Image: 2015 Getty Images)

Two or three “development” players could also arrive, with Leeds United’s Lewis Cook top of the list.

Elsewhere, the relatively “untapped” markets of Spain and Switzerland will be looked at. However, Germany, France and Holland will remain key hunting grounds for Carr – and for any Newcastle fans who attended the Borussia Monchengladbach pre-season friendly, they will know that Granit Xhaka is a real talent. The defensive-midfielder controlled the game, and Newcastle are certainly keeping tabs on him.

Raphael Guerreiro of FC Lorient could also solve the problem left-back position, with the Portugal international a full-back very much in the Steve McClaren and Ian Cathro mould.

Another name on Newcastle’s radar is Quincy Promes – who played for McClaren’s former side FC Twente. Currently at Spartak Moscow, the Dutch international is a winger with a serious eye for goal.

Finally, the name who will really have those sceptics choking on their morning cups of tea is that of Alexandre Lacazette. Linked with the likes of Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Manchester United in recent windows, the word is that Europe’s big boys are still unconvinced the 24-year-old Frenchman can cut it at the top level.

Newcastle have tracked Lacazette for a good few seasons and will likely return to Lyon with an offer next summer. A poor start to the season means Lacazette’s value is teetering and the Ligue 1 side may be forced to lower their pricetag.

In terms of players leaving, Papiss Cisse’s days on Tyneside appear numbered, while age is catching up with Coloccini. Moussa Sissoko could also jump ship at the end of the season.

I expect Rolando Aarons – and possibly even Adam Armstrong – to start pushing for starting places by next summer.

POSSIBLE NUFC STARTING XI IN THREE TRANSFER WINDOWS: Krul; Janmaat, Mbemba, Matip, Guerreiro; Promes, Xhaka, Wijnaldum, Thauvin; Lacazette, Mitrovic