After a £252m spend and the £130m recouped for Alexander Isak, Newcastle are in a strong PSR position moving forward and will be able to spend again in January if needed
Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe chats with Alexander Isak afterr the Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and Leicester City FC at St James' Park on December 14, 2024 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Eddie Howe(Image: Stu Forster, Getty Images)
Newcastle United senior figures accepted long ago that Alexander Isak's time at St James' Park was up - it was always merely a question of whether they could command the right fee for his services.
Across a 55-day period, insiders at Newcastle never once stated that Isak would definitely not be sold or was "not for sale" and while Liverpool fans were left sweating, the deal to sell Isak for a fixed price few plus the waiving of some loyalty fees earned United a healthy £130m.
Chronicle Live followed the Isak story every step of the way this summer from Benton to Celtic Park then on to Singapore and South Korea and back to the UK putting in days of enquiries and checks amid a media frenzy, and every time the word was that Isak was more than likely to go - if the price was right.
The reality is that while £150m was bandied frequently at the beginning, the likelihood of that type of number decreased on August 1 when Liverpool's opening offer was £110m - after that, there was always going to be just one more bid, and Newcastle accepted it.
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Coaching staff knew, through reading between the lines and Isak's stubborn resistance not join the group on pre-season, that the game was up and a replacement - a high-profile one - was needed quickly.
It was in danger of becoming toxic and even the arrival of Anthony Elanga, Isak's big mate, did not sway the centre-forward to think again about staying on Tyneside.
One insider told Chronicle Live: "In Austria, it was clear something was wrong. He then didn't travel with the squad to Celtic or on to the Far East.
"It wasn't just the agent turning his head, he was keen to leave. The staff knew if he didn't go to Singapore and South Korea that he'd be off, and so it proved."
Ambitious bids for Joao Pedro, Liam Delap, Hugo Ekitike and Benjamin Sesko were placed across what has been a turbulent summer at St James' Park before eventually landing Nick Woltemade and then Yoane Wissa.
The Isak affair has tested the patience of insiders, irked head coach Eddie Howe and left the club open to negativity with the Sweden striker claiming "promises" were "broken".
Howe, at first, tried to persuade Isak to get back to what he does best, but Isak's response was understood to have been deemed too toxic to become involved again with the main group - yet through it all, the head coach tried to protect the player himself, with his relationship with the fans understandably ugly.
But the warning signs on Isak have been longstanding and have stretched over the past three windows in truth.
Such as the club's tour of Japan in 2024 when a flustered Isak snubbed interviews with travelling reporters knowing there would be awkward questions on a new contract he did not want to sign.
Isak was never huge on doing media duties but in his first 18 months on Tyneside he had no issue talking to the local Press and myself here on Chronicle Live.
But those interview opportunities suddenly dried up, and even after he scored the goal that proved to be the winner at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final, the Sweden striker could not get through the exit door quickly enough in the mixed zone with reporters desperate for a quote or two on what it was like to end 70 years of domestic hurt.
He knew then that the next question was about his future. As the champagne was still drying on the silverware, a Wembley hangover was kicking in.
True, Isak had agreed to speak before the game at the club's pre-Wembley media day, but he offered very little when it came to questions on his future, and it was very similar to the moment Alan Shearer asked him if he would sign a new long-term contract during a BBC Sport interview earlier this year.
Without offering eye contact to the black and white legend, Isak said: "Yeah we’ll see, obviously you never know."
That can just kept getting booted down the road when it came to Isak's future.
Well, we certainly know now, but there was a feeling internally that the ex-Real Sociedad star had no interest in emulating Alan Shearer by becoming the club's all-time leading scorer.
It is understood at one stage a figure of around £200,000 per week over a long-term deal with Newcastle plus the no.9 shirt was put to Isak.
But with the striker taking advice from his representatives, they knew he could get more elsewhere, hence why Isak took nuclear action to release a statement and essentially force his own move to the North-East.
Another observation was that those close to Isak, his agency, coldly ignored contact with North-East sources and instead looked at the bigger picture, hence social media transfer aggregators slowly unsettling Isak with updates of new bids, continued Liverpool interest and talk of Newcastle being ready to let him go.
In response to Isak's claims of broken promises, Newcastle released their own statement, and while they said they don't want to sell their best players, they also said: "We have been clear that the conditions of a sale this summer have not transpired."
Once Liverpool and Isak agreed a deal that was worth £130m those conditions were met and Newcastle walked away with a situation that doubled their money on the fee paid in 2022.
The environment has been far from ideal, and Isak-gate has overshadowed what should have been a summer bursting with optimism because of new signings, the return of Champions League football, and a new stadium project edging towards the horizon.
Instead, every Press conference has been dominated by Isak questions, something Howe, to his credit, never once tried to shut down.
It would have been easy for Howe to brief his Press officer to simply say "no questions on Isak" but Howe felt a duty to answer each question diligently while also protecting Isak to the last.
But after six major signings, Newcastle emerged from what was a testing window in credit in the eyes of many observers.
They rounded off deadline day by completing a £252million summer spending spree and adding Yoane Wissa to their ranks and attempting to move on from Isak.
The departing Brentford striker scored 19 goals, and Wissa was beaming as he put pen to paper.
Wissa was so confident that he would get his deadline day move to Newcastle that he travelled north from the capital on the morning of the last day of Premier League trading before getting the green light.
Infamously, West Brom star Peter Odemwingie once attempted a similar stunt in a bid to sign for Queens Park Rangers before the deal collapsed, but there was no such drama on Tyneside on deadline day!
Wissa's £50m arrival brought the curtain down on that spend of £252m at St James' Park after Saudi-backers PIF kept their word on transfers.
The DR Congo international had been waiting for the go-ahead for his Newcastle move and even went public on his wish to quit Brentford on deadline eve.
If anything, Wissa's arrival was the final piece of the jigsaw for Newcastle, who went into the window needing a right-sided attacker, a new, younger centre-back, a central midfield addition, and a potential replacement for Isak.
His arrival caps a remarkable window and bumper shopping spree for the Magpies who have made six additions in 28-year-old Wissa, German international Nick Woltemade, England stopper Aaron Ramsdale (loan), classy Serie A defender Malick Thiaw, Anthony Elanga and Jacob Ramsey.
Wissa's £50m move will help erase memories of Isak on Tyneside, with many supporters resigned to his departure back in July.
If Wissa can form a partnership with £69m German international Woltemade, who arrived from Stuttgart on Saturday morning, it will definitely be a case of: "Alexander who?"
Or at least that will be the hope for Howe after the head coach was pushed to the limit with Isak after he downed tools this summer.
For head coach Howe, he has the chance to take Newcastle into a new chapter with an exciting stadium announcement due later this year and the return of Champions League football kicking off against Barcelona late this month.
Sweden international Elanga can bring verve and swagger to Howe's front three once he settles down and Ramsey is an upgrade on Sean Longstaff in the eyes of many supporters.
With Fabian Schar now reaching his golden years in a black and white shirt, 24-year-old former AC Milan star Thiaw can give Howe's defensive ranks a major boost.
Ex-Aston Villa midfielder Ramsey brings energy to the midfield, and Ramsdale offers international cover for Nick Pope.
Deadline day could have been a disaster for Newcastle had they not brought in a centre-forward after Isak's departure; instead, they just about saved face, but now have doubters to prove after a flat start to the season and no wins on the board.
Isak damaged is own legacy at Newcastle and it will take years to recover it, if it isn't damaged permanently already. He may be the man who scored the crucial goal at Wembley to win the cup.
But once again, the major truth that emerges from a saga that has woven its way into black and white tapestry on Tyneside is that nobody, and I mean nobody, is bigger than the club.
Not even you Alex!