**Ross Wilson will be gearing up for his first big test as sporting director at Newcastle United with the January transfer window creeping up.**
The January trading period is notoriously difficult to operate in, especially if you're looking for top players, are clubs are more reluctant to part with their bigger stars mid-season.
With that in mind, and the fact that it will be his first transfer window in the role, it would be harsh to judge Wilson too much on this one.
That being said, Eddie Howe has already set out his stall and publicly admitted that he expects the club to spend in the winter window.
Eddie Howe expects Ross Wilson to be busy in January
Eddie Howe wants continuous investment in every window
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As quoted in [The Northern Echo](https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/sport/25568789.eddie-howe-wants-newcastle-united-january-transfer-window/), the Newcastle boss has spoken about how he expects the club to trade in every window just to freshen up the squad.
> “Every transfer window for me is an opportunity to invest. We will look at it and try and make the best decisions for the future of the club knowing what we have available in that window and then the following windows. We will try to make the best decisions in that way.
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> “I would love to get to a situation where we can invest in every window. Not necessarily big outlays, sometimes small outlays to keep the fluidity in the squad and keep building forward, but we haven’t had those discussions yet.”
By January, Newcastle may not feel they need anyone else through the door
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With a bit of luck, Newcastle will be clicking on the pitch come January, and there won't be any desperate need to recruit, but that's certainly not the case right now with a couple of spots showing signs of weakness.
A lot of that is down to unfortunate timing with injuries, however, as well as new players taking time to adjust to their new surroundings, so, like we say, by January, it could be a different story.
Elliot Anderson is one player continually linked with a move to Newcastle, but we don't see that one happening in January, if indeed it happens at all. It does have that whiff of Sandro Tonali to Italy about it, in that it's a story that journalists know will generate clicks from fans, so they keep repeating it with no real credibility behind what they're saying.