NEWCASTLE UNITED will embark on a significant January signing drive if they are still embroiled in relegation trouble at the turn of the year.

Magpies owner Mike Ashley is ready to increase his planned spending in order to guard against the possibility of his side dropping out of the top-flight for the second time in his tenure, with the club’s recruitment team already having been instructed to get their leading targets in place.

The purchase of an experienced centre-half and centre-forward will be a priority, with the Newcastle hierarchy privately conceding that the squad remains light in both key positions.

Despite speculation linking Andy Carroll with a possible return to St James’ Park, it is considered extremely unlikely that Newcastle will be able to engineer a deal for their former striker in January as West Ham United will be unwilling to write off too much of the £15m they shelled out to sign the 25-year-old permanently in 2013.

Instead, Newcastle’s recruitment group are understood to be focusing the majority of their attention on the Dutch Eredivisie, a market they have exploited on a regular basis in the last couple of seasons, with FC Twente striker Luc Castaignos having emerged as a leading target.

Two seasons ago, Ashley shed his reluctance to do much business in the January window in order to transform the fortunes of a Newcastle side that were in grave danger of slipping into the Championship.

With the Magpies sitting 15th when the transfer window opened at the start of 2013, Ashley agreed to the purchase of Mathieu Debuchy, Moussa Sissoko, Massadio Haidara, Yoan Gouffran and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.

While the quintet have endured mixed fortunes since, their arrival provided the boost that enabled Newcastle to scramble to safety in 16th position by the end of the campaign.

There is little chance of five more players arriving in three months time, but a defender and striker will be pursued vigorously unless the Magpies’ fortunes improve markedly before the end of the year.

As has been the case in previous transfer windows, Newcastle’s recruitment team will be instructed to complete as much of their business as early as possible, meaning that the extensive scouting planned for the next couple of months will be crucial.

The need for an early January addition is even more acute this season as Papiss Cisse, who has scored four of Newcastle’s seven Premier League goals, is due to travel to Morocco for the Africa Cup of Nations.

The tournament is scheduled to begin on January 17, and with Senegal currently top of their qualifying group with two games remaining, there is every chance that Cisse will be required to leave for a pre-competition training camp in the first two weeks of the New Year.

That would leave Newcastle extremely short of attacking options, and heighten the need for a new arrival as quickly as possible once the transfer window reopens.

The Magpies’ attacking line-up would be strengthened if Siem de Jong was to be available, but the Dutch forward has admitted he does not know when he will be ready to return to first-team action.

De Jong, a £4.5m summer signing from Ajax, suffered a tendon injury at the start of last month, and is expected to be sidelined until December at the earliest.

Alan Pardew has previously expressed a hope he will be available for the Christmas period, but de Jong is reluctant to put too precise a timescale on his recovery.

“It is difficult for me to say when I’ll be fit again,” he said. “It’s going well and I feel good, but it’s a nasty injury.

“The fact I have been made vice-captain makes it even more annoying. I want to help the team, but I’m unable to do so.”