Newcastle United were active throughout the January transfer window as they made a number of signings to bolster Eddie Howe's squad.

The Magpies made a host of fresh additions to their ranks, including Bruno Guimaraes, Chris Wood, Matt Targett, Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier.

However, not every player that they wanted to bring to St James' Park ended up making the switch, as they failed to land some of their targets.

One man that the club reportedly wanted to sign was Mainz centre-forward Jean-Philippe Mateta. The Toon were said to have made a £20m offer to snap him up ahead of Crystal Palace, but the south London outfit eventually signed him to a permanent deal, duly ending Newcastle's chances of landing him.

PIF brought in Wood from Burnley to improve Howe's options in the number nine position, but he has scored just one Premier League goal for the club so far across 11 starts in place of the injured Callum Wilson.

How do Mateta and the ex-Clarets marksman compare for their respective clubs?

As you can see in the graphic above, the Palace striker offers more than the New Zealand international on and off the ball for his side. He has scored more goals from fewer starts, whilst pressing more from the front and completing a higher percentage of his passes.

Journalist Alex Howell dubbed the Frenchman a "cult hero" for Palace and it is easy to see why the supporters have been able to take to him. In Europe's top five leagues, he ranks in the 89th percentile for pressures and the 95th percentile for clearances, which shows that he works his socks off for the team. Supports love to see players who put in 100% on the pitch, and these statistics suggest that Mateta does exactly that.

These statistics suggest that he would have been an upgrade on Wood. He has offered more of a goal threat than the Magpies colossus and his link-up play shows that his overall game has been more effective in the top flight, as he has more to his game with his ability in possession in terms of his passing and dribbling.

At 24, Mateta is also six years younger than the Newcastle marksman, which means that he would have had more long-term value to the club. Therefore, PIF had a big shocker by missing out on the Palace striker, who would have been a brilliant signing in comparison to the ex-Burnley machine, based on their respective form this season.

AND in other news, Newcastle now plotting huge £120k-p/w bid for £50m "destroyer", he'd be Howe's "rock"...