Newcastle United supporters have been pretty despondent in the Transfer Tavern this week after seeing their side suffer frustrating back-to-back Premier League defeats at the hands of Burnley and Bournemouth prior to the two-week break for internationals.

Rafa Benitez’s men won four of their opening nine league games but came unstuck against Sean Dyche’s Burnley little over a fortnight ago, with Jeff Hendrick’s second half strike enough to seal a 1-0 win for the Clarets, and thus condemn the Magpies to a fourth defeat of the campaign. And that became five less than a week later as a last-gasp Steve Cook header secured a deserved 1-0 victory for Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth at St James’ Park, a result which moved the Cherries out of the bottom three, and also instigated Newcastle’s fall to 11th in the Premier League table.

Thus, there has been many despondent Magpies supporters in the Tavern this week, and things aren’t looking any easier for the North East giants as they face a daunting trip to second place Manchester United on Saturday when league action returns after the international break.

In the meantime though, there has been plenty for our resident Newcastle fans to discuss, not least recent reports linking midfielder Mo Diame with a January move away from the club.

The 30-year-old started their 1-0 defeat against Burnley a few weeks ago but did little to improve his chances of further starts, a point that was made evident by Benitez as the former Senegal international was dropped for the visit of Bournemouth last time out.

And now it seems that the midfielder could well be on his way out of Newcastle in January, with Aston Villa reportedly interested in his services, and as such here are TWO other Magpies stars who could follow Diame out of the club in the New Year…

Karl Darlow

Benitez struggled to get top targets through the door during the summer transfer window, with goalkeepers seeming to be one area he was hoping to improve.

And were the Spaniard looking to do the same again in January, that could spell the end of Karl Darlow’s time in the North East.

The 27-year-old moved to St James’ Park back in 2014 and played a key part in helping them win the Championship title last season, yet he has found himself behind Rob Elliot in the pecking order this term, and thus firmly rooted to a place on the substitute’s bench.

The Englishman was linked with a move away during the summer but to no avail, but were Benitez to land another shot-stopper in the New Year, that could well bring about the end of Darlow’s three-year stay on Tyneside.

Dwight Gayle

Dwight Gayle bagged 23 goals in 32 Championship games last season to help Newcastle return to the Premier League, but he has been playing second fiddle to Joselu for much of the current campaign.

And given that the latter has sometimes struggled himself in front of goal, the writing is surely on the wall for Gayle, who has managed just three Premier League starts so far and, combined with his other six appearances, has yet to net a goal in the league.

Clearly, his injury troubles are continuing to frustrate manager Benitez, who could look to offload the 27-year-old come the New Year in a bid to free up space in his squad for further attacking options.