Newcastle United essentially closed for business as transfer deadline rapidly approaches

With just hours to go before the curtain comes down on one of the worst transfer windows in recent memory, it looks very likely that Newcastle United will remain as is for the rest of the season.

Having sold Javier Manquillo and brought in Alife Harrison for the youth team, it's safe to say that January has been a bit of a washout for Newcastle.

It has hardly been a bastion of joy for any Premier League sides with so few clubs opting to, or indeed able to do business. If ever there was a case to be made for FFP ruining the game, this transfer window has been it. Clubs who could easily afford to make moves in the window (i.e. Newcastle) have been unable to because of the restrictions imposed by FFP which doesn't allow for owners' wealth and carries on from accounts which had nothing to do with the current regime.

Keith Downie has already squashed expectations

So as we barrel towards what will likely be the lowest transfer window spend in years, where does that leave Newcastle United?

Keith Downie has already broadcast live from Newcastle this morning on Sky Sports News to say that he doesn't expect there to be any incomings or outgoings today for the Magpies.

So it's as you were then. A severely depleted squad that has been run into the ground due to all of the injuries with players still dropping like flies even as others come back to fitness.

Newcastle looked back to their best against Aston Villa

Thankfully, that two-week break has worked wonders as Newcastle were able to scrape a victory against Fulham and then looked back to their best against Aston Villa, so who knows, the gamble could pay off.

We're expecting Newcastle to be a hive of transfer activity in the summer and after this window has screamed to the Premier League that their rules are killing the game, they might have a re-think on FFP entirely. The plan is to use the UEFA model, but even that is overly restrictive and should be under consideration - it probably won't be, but it should be.

Unless something wacky happens later today, we're expecting it to be quite a boring transfer deadline day.