Newcastle United are receiving interest from a number of Championship clubs this month over the availability of their Scottish winger Ryan Fraser.

What's the latest?

Although the Toon have not seen any new signings come through the doors at St. James' Park this month, there has also not been many leaving the club.

Chris Wood became the first to leave this month after a deal with Nottingham Forest was confirmed on Friday.

And it seems as if the New Zealand striker's expected departure could kickstart the Magpies into life in the January transfer window.

Speaking to Football FanCast prior to Wood's departure, insider Dean Jones has suggested Dan Ashworth has been receiving some interest from a handful of teams in the second tier.

He said: "There's a lot of options here. The one thing he's really going to have to consider though is, would he go into the Championship?

"I think there's a couple of the clubs interested in him that are at the top end of the Championship. So it's a tough one for him to decide whether he's ready to drop a level and hope he can get back to the Premier League."

A big drop down to the Championship

What Newcastle have been able to achieve under Eddie Howe and the Saudi Arabian-based ownership has been nothing short of incredible.

The Magpies are sitting firmly within the Premier League's top four and have a great chance of getting their hands of the League Cup this season.

There have been a number of new faces arrive on Tyneside since the takeover took place in the latter stages of 2021, but Howe has also developed a lot of the players he adopted when joining the club.

And perhaps the biggest example of this is Miguel Almiron who has been playing like a player reborn this season under the 45-year-old.

When Howe took on the job at Newcastle, you probably wouldn't have been wrong in thinking the likes of Almiron could be the type of player who could be moved on under the new owners.

The Paraguayan has scored 23 goals for Newcastle in 146 appearances, however, nine of them have come in the 19 Premier League appearances under Howe this season (via Transfermarkt).

For a player like Fraser, he has clearly not had this sort of development under Howe with the 28-year-old netting just twice in their time together on Tyneside.

Not only does his lack of output in front of goal leave his spot in the squad vulnerable but the likes of Almiron's progression will surely see his opportunities to prove himself pushed even further back.

Fraser's time at Newcastle has not particularly done him any favours with just three goals and six assists to show across the 59 appearances he has made.

Although it may be difficult to leave a club on the up like Newcastle, at the age of 28, perhaps it would be wise for Fraser to leave and pick up some more frequent game time elsewhere.