Newcastle ’s survival chances seemed incredibly slim just over a month ago and even the most optimistic fan could have told you their worst fears for the remainder of the season.
But an encouraging January transfer window that brought five new arrivals to St. James’ Park has helped Eddie Howe's side to win four of their previous five games to climb up to 14th.
The Magpies may still only be four points above the drop zone and relegation is still a very realistic prospect, but it seems those initial fears are seeping away.
And it appears their recent good form is impacting the club’s transfer plans for next season as they continue to target players for another Premier League season.
The latest transfer news surrounding the club is that talks have been ‘intensified’ to sign highly-rated £40million full-back Carlos Daniel from Atletico Mineiro, as the club look to build for the future.
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Daniel has been making a name for himself in Brazil with the reigning national champions and attracted further interest from the Magpies after his performances in the Copinha tournament last month - Brazil’s equivalent of the FA Youth Cup.
The 20-year-old is valued at £40m by Mineiro but it has been suggested that the cash-strapped club could sell him for less.
And his agent, Anderson Fia, has told Globo Esporte that the Magpies have shown a long-term interest in the player and have recently ‘intensified’ talks to sign him.
Fia said: “The contact has been going on since June last year. It has now been intensified again, because they followed the Copinha.
“The team was bought by Mohammed bin Salman. But the director continued, and he liked Carlos a lot.”
HITC suggest that the ‘director’ Fia was referring to could be Steve Nickson, who is Newcastle ’s head of recruitment, and was credited for playing a huge part in the club’s successful transfer window in January.
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The Magpies only appointed Dan Ashworth as their director of football last month, following the conclusion of the January transfer window, and so he would not have had any involvement in the talks at the time.
Either way, the north-east club seem intent on signing Daniel and he is seen as a player who the club can develop for the future, as they intend on becoming one of the dominant forces in English football in years to come.
Newcastle brought in Dan Burn, Kieran Trippier and Matt Targett (loan) in January to bolster their defensive options, though look likely to conduct another spending spree in the summer.