Newcastle United brought in a number of new players during the January transfer window who ended up helping the club to avoid relegation and finish 11th in the Premier League.

Now that the summer transfer window has opened for business, this could see another flurry of business being conducted at St James' Park.

In terms of potential outgoings, as Eddie Howe looks to freshen up his squad, one man who we feel shouldn't continue with the Toon is Ciaran Clark.

Getting just 13 league appearances in 2021/22, the 32-year-old's final squad inclusion came back in January when he made a 21-minute cameo in the 1-0 win over Leeds United at Elland Road. This doesn't say much for his chances of playing regularly under Howe next season.

Whenever the Irishman did get a chance to play, he was more often than not a liability for his team, as Jamie Carragher made clear when he slammed the centre-back for his "shocking" defensive error against Manchester City just before Christmas. In the same month, he was given a red card nine minutes into Newcastle's home clash against Norwich City.

In terms of who could come in to replace Clark, one player who has recently been linked with a £17m move to Tyneside and who could fit the bill is Eintracht Frankfurt defender Evan Ndicka.

Having made 138 appearances for the German club across all competitions, the 22-year-old has scored 10 goals and delivered nine assists, showing that he can be a rather useful goal threat at times.

In terms of his defensive capabilities, the centre-back has racked up a total of 114 successful tackles, 221 blocks, 161 interceptions and 473 clearances for the Europa League holders.

To further highlight how imposing he is at the back, the Frenchman ended his latest Bundesliga season with the highest average of clearances per game (4.1) and the joint-highest average for tackles (1.9) and interceptions (1.6) at his club.

This shows that he certainly has what it takes to be a solid defensive unit and why he could be a great long-term option for Newcastle given his young age.

Labelled an "enormous" player by Frankfurt journalist Christopher Michel, Ndicka should definitely be in the Magpies' transfer plans should they get rid of Clark this summer.

In other news: Howe could land big Longstaff upgrade as Newcastle now plot bid for £228k-p/w “wizard”