Newcastle United are enjoying a fantastic season with Eddie Howe's squad smashing the expectations of supporters over the first half of the season at St James' Park.

The Magpies are currently third in the Premier League after 19 outings with only one defeat tallied up so far and the team also recently progressed to the Carabao Cup semi-finals after beating Leicester City, teeing up the opportunity to bring a trophy and Champions League football to the North East by the end of the current campaign.

Indeed, Howe will be thrilled with the level his squad has competed at in such a short period of time since his arrival at the club just over a year ago when the side were battling relegation. However, if they are going to continue pushing for dominance in the Premier League they need to keep improving and investing in talent to build a squad with quality depth.

As a result, there will be an opportunity for Howe to bring in more new additions over this month and the summer transfer window and with Champions League qualification becoming an increasing reality for the Magpies as every fixture passes by, the club will be able to attract top talent should they manage to do so.

One player who has recently been linked with a move to Tyneside is Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder Ruben Neves with the midfielder attracting attention from a number of Premier League clubs due to his consistent quality performances for the Midlands club.

Over 18 Premier League appearances so far this season, the 25-year-old - who was hailed "out of this world" by Tim Spiers - has proven himself to be a well-rounded midfielder.

Indeed, he has scored four goals and successfully completed 54% of his dribble attempts, as well as averaging 50.9 accurate passes, 2.1 shots on goal, 1.4 interceptions, 2.6 tackles, 2.4 clearances and winning 4.1 duels per game, showcasing that he is both defensively sound and potent in attack too.

Howe could even land a huge Sean Longstaff upgrade with the potential £70m signing of the Portuguese sensation as Neves has outperformed the Newcastle ace in many attributes this season so far including pass completion rate (82.3% v 78.7%), goals scored (4 v 1), tackles and interceptions won (73 v 32), progressive passes (80 v 46), dribbles completed (46.7% v 9.1%) and ball recoveries (128 v 81).

There is no doubt that Longstaff has stepped up into a key role in the centre of the pitch for Newcastle this season following Jonjo Shelvey's long-term injury issues, however, should the club qualify for the Champions League or European football in general ahead of next season, it is imperative that Dan Ashworth signs the highest quality players to compete on all fronts.

With that being said, the addition of Neves would be a major coup for the Magpies in their chase to dominate in both the Premier League and Europe in the future.