The summer of the saga is finally over, but it's difficult to know how Newcastle United supporters will feel about it.
On deadline day, Alexander Isak joined Liverpool for a reported fee of £125m, including add-ons, which makes this a British transfer record.
Alexander-Isak-Carabao-Cup-trophy
The Swede has, quite publicly, been on strike all summer as he attempted to force through this move to Merseyside, skipping the Magpies' pre-season tour of Asia and also not turning up to the PFA awards, where he was named in the team of the season.
As a result, the Geordie faithful have completely turned against Isak, making it frankly unfathomable that he would ever play for the club again, so most will be glad to see him gone, albeit their team are losing arguably the best striker in the Premier League.
Isak's Premier League record before joining Liverpool (timeless)
Isak's Premier League record before joining Liverpool.
The Magpies have signed two very expensive strikers to fill his void, it remains to be seen if they'll come good, but the astronomical fees being paid by all clubs this summer has only underlined the fact that Newcastle struck gold snapping up their talisman.
Newcastle's Isak replacements
On Saturday, Newcastle announced the signing of striker Nick Woltemade, arriving from Stuttgart for an initial fee of £65m plus up to £4.3m in add-ons.
This time last year, barely anyone had heard of Woltemade, considering he'd scored just two top division goals during his time at Werder Bremen.
However, the 23-year-old really burst onto the scene at Stuttgart, netting 18 times in just 36 appearances for die Schwaben, including scoring during each round of the DFB-Pokal, breaking the deadlock against Arminia Bielefeld in May's final, as his side won the competition for the first time since 1997.
He then further enhanced his reputation during this summer's U21 European Championships, bagging a hat-trick during Germany's tournament opener against Slovenia, picking up the golden boot by netting six times in total, as die Mannschaft were defeated 3-2 by England in the final in Bratislava.
Stuttgart's Nick Woltemade
Stuttgart's Nick Woltemade
Standing at 198 cms (6 ft 6 in) tall, he is nicknamed "Woltemessi" due to his perceived good touch for a big man, so it'll be fascinating to see how he fares on Tyneside.
That is not all, though, because on deadline day, Newcastle also finally completed the signing of long-term target Yoane Wissa.
Brentford forward Yoane Wissa celebrates
The DR Congo international himself had gone full-Isak at Brentford, refusing to play as he pushed for a move, but the two clubs agreed a fee of £55m on Monday, after bids of £25m and £40m had both been rejected earlier this summer.
Wissa leaves West London as Brentford's all-time leading scorer in the Premier League, having been on target 49 times in all competitions for the Bees, 19 of which came in the Premier League last season, a tally only bettered by Mohamed Salah, Isak, Erling Braut Håland, Bryan Mbeumo and Chris Wood.
Newcastle-Wissa-Woltemade-stats
At 28 years old, however, £55m for Wissa, when you've also just signed another striker for around £70m, does seem very high, further underlining how much of a bargain Newcastle's talisman has proved to be.
Newcastle talisman signed for a bargain fee
Back in October 2021, the Saudi Public Investment Fund completed their £305m takeover of Newcastle United and, after swiftly replacing Steve Bruce with Eddie Howe, they wanted to make a splash in the transfer market.
During that first January window, with the Toon Army very much embroiled in a relegation battle, having won just one of their first 20 fixtures, the new owners spent big to ensure Premier League survival.
Four new signings arrived for a combined £90m, namely Chris Wood, Kieran Trippier, Dan Burn and Bruno Guimarães, and the latter instantaneously became a cult hero on Tyneside.
To date, Guimarães has made 147 appearances for the Magpies, scoring 23 goals and registering 24 assists, playing an instrumental role in the team that won last season's EFL Cup, ending the club's 70-year wait for major domestic silverware.
The table below emphasises his importance to Newcastle.
Guimarães 2024/25 stats
Statistics
Minutes
Goals
Assists
Shots
Completed passes
Key passes
Passes into final third
Progress passes
Shot-creating actions
Big chances created
Tackles
Interceptions
Ball recoveries
Touches
Avg Sofascore rating
As the table reinforces, Guimarães is pivotal to everything Newcastle achieve; ranked first by every passing metric, while also in the top two for out-of-possession statistics, tackles and ball recoveries, producing goals, assists and chance creation at the other end of the pitch too.
The £40m paid to Olympique Lyonnais to secure his signature has turned out to be a complete bargain, especially considering his current estimated transfer value is around £69m.
Bruno-Guimaraes
Bruno Guimaraes
For comparison, new signings Woltemade and Wissa are valued at around £26m and £27.6m respectively, substantially lower than the fees Newcastle have paid.
His international teammate Casemiro is certainly a fan, stating that Guimarães has been "exceptional" at Newcastle, adding that he is a "great player who has been demonstrating this in the most difficult league in the world".
Thus, now that Isak has finally departed Tyneside, the Brazilian midfielder is ready to step up and be Newcastle's talisman, leading them into a Champions League campaign, with Barcelona the first visitors to St James' Park on 18 September; what a tie that'll be.