Gus Poyet has moved to boost his midfield options further with the loan captures of both Abdul Razak and Gai Assulin on loan until the end of the season from Manchester City.

We reported last week that a deal for Razak was likely once Yaya Toure had returned from the African Cup of Nations and so it has proven that the young box-to-box midfielder has signed. He has spent time out on loan already this season making three appearances during a month just down the A27 at Portsmouth and has made a couple of substitute appearances for the Man City first team as well as two Carling Cup starts.

Even more exciting is Assulin, an Israeli under 21 international who rocked up at the Etihad Stadium from Barcelona, where he had a £20m buyout clause in his contract. An attacking midfielder who can also play out wide, he played 67 times for the Catalan clubs B side between 2007 and 2010 scoring 13 times. His first season was under none other than Pep Guardiola during which time Barca B won the Spanish fourth tier title before the shiny-bonced managers promotion to the main hot seat at Camp Nou.

Assulin was rumoured to be one of the players that Guardiola would take with him into the first team, but an injury that ruled him out of virtually the whole of 2008-2009 put paid to that. He played several pre-season games for the first team in 2009-2010 before his one appearance came in the Copa del Rey against Cultural Leonesa. With Spain having their top clubs reserves side play in their actual league system it means that he has spent most of his career so far in the equivalent of a Spanish League One.

Creating chances this season has proven to be somewhat of our problem as our terrible record of one shot in each away game for about three months between September and December proved. Things have got better since Will Buckley’s return to full fitness but with him, Kazenga LuaLua and Vicente – three creators in chief – all having struggled with injuries across the season Poyet has obviously realised that creative players are what we need if the strikers are going to thrive and that is what he has bought in.

Suddenly, we should be looking very dangerous in attack. Bring on Liverpool!