Newcastle United dominated Leicester City at St James' Park on Saturday afternoon and two of their four strikes came from a position that is very much up for grabs in Eddie Howe's side.
As many as five different first-team stars have filled in at right-wing so far this season - Jacob Murphy, Anthony Gordon, Harvey Barnes, Joelinton and Miguel Almiron - but it was the first mentioned on that list that looks set to hold down a starting spot there as the January window draws ever closer.
Murphy missed two early chances in the Leicester drubbing, causing audible frustration from those watching on inside St James' Park. No wonder then, when the attacker calmly slotted the opening goal on the half an hour, he made his frustration clear, pointing to his ear and screaming 'WHAT, WHAT!' towards the supporters in the Gallowgate End.
This angry celebration will no doubt have been brought on by both fan reaction inside the stadium on Saturday and outside noise surrounding Murphy's future in recent weeks. Ask the majority of Newcastle fans where they would like to strengthen in January and a majority will likely point to the exact area of the pitch Murphy is trying to make his own.
The 29-year-old's two excellent finishes over the weekend means it is unlikely he will drop out of the team for Wednesday's clash with Brentford or the next Premier League outing, away to Ipswich Town, later in the month. The bigger question that needs to be asked is can he nail down the role on a long-term basis - and do Newcastle have enough cover on the right to avoid spending in January?
The reason this is even up for debate is due to the Magpies' well-documented - and ever so frustrating - PSR concerns. Anyone expecting a vast overhaul of the first-team next month has not been paying attention to the financial position Newcastle find themselves in.
“I keep saying the same thing about January – I wouldn’t expect us to be in a position to be too active in the market," Howe admitted just last week. "As we currently stand, things can change. You know, if we trade players, of course that’s different, but if we don’t trade players, I would expect us to be quiet.”
With that in mind, can Newcastle stagger towards the end of the season without any fresh faces in that role? There's no doubt they have the bodies - but do they have the quality?
Murphy must find some consistency to make that position his own after some bright spells, Gordon is much better suited to the left, Barnes too prefers the opposite side of the pitch, Joelinton remains a key asset in the middle of the park and Almiron has both struggled for game time and could be one of Howe's senior stars to potentially make way come the January window.
With Newcastle recently prioritising a central defensive addition, Callum Wilson's latest setback limiting the amount of options at Howe's disposal through the middle, and the right-wing situation up in the air, it's still up for debate where the January priority lies.
The club don't have the luxury to address all three issues in one month and Murphy's Leicester brace may well strengthen the argument that funds should be used to address one of the first two problems next month.
"I'm really pleased because every attacking player needs to feel they're contributing and naturally you contribute in assists and goals," Howe said of Murphy after Saturday's win. "He got two assists last week, that wasn't lost on me. But ultimately nothing beats scoring, so for him to score two after missing a couple of chances early on shows his mental qualities and resilience. Two great finishes.
"He's a really valuable player because wherever you put him or whatever you ask him to do, he does it to the best of his ability. For me he's come on leaps and bounds since I've been here, but he has to feel that feeling of contribution so today was important."