Newcastle United's summer transfer window started with a sequence of failed efforts to sign strikers. They had an extensive shortlist, but found they were repeatedly beaten in their chase for all of them but two.
Indeed, optimists on Tyneside might remark that Newcastle got there in the end, strengthening across the park to give Eddie Howe a refreshed squad to tackle the campaign with.
Losing Alexander Isak to Liverpool cannot be sugar-coated, though; it's a huge blow. Widely regarded as being among the cream of strikers across the globe, Isak has only made the dominant Premier League champions stronger.
Alexander-Isak-2
Only a matter of months ago, the thought of Isak's sale to a team like Liverpool was unthinkable, but it has become a reality for the Magpies, and Howe has been forced to rework his free-flowing frontline.
Having only claimed two points from their first three league matches of the season, blanking in two of those matches besides, Newcastle need their new recruits to settle in quickly, having indeed reached a decision that Isak needed to be sold to Liverpool.
Newcastle ins and outs summer window 2025 (timeless)-1
Why Newcastle allowed Isak to leave
Isak has been one of the most clinical goal scorers in the Premier League since his debut in 2022, behind only Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah in the goal-to-game ratio.
Premier League - Top Scorers Since 22/23
Player
Erling Haaland
Mohamed Salah
Alexander Isak
Ollie Watkins
Bryan Mbeumo
Data via Transfermarkt
After qualifying for the Champions League and beating Liverpool to lift the Carabao Cup last season, the Toon felt they had done enough to prevent Isak from being picked at by the top brass, but the player has been tenacious in his desire to leave for pastures new, even at the expense of his relationship with Newcastle.
PIF entered the transfer window with the insistence that they would not lose their talisman, who was contracted to St. James' Park for just under three more years.
But his incendiary comments and refusal to play made it hard to warrant his staying in Howe's squad. Thus, his bond with United has been broken.
Alexander-Isak-statement-Newcastle
Newcastle have at least replaced the 25-year-old with a proven Premier League goalscorer in Brentford's Yoane Wissa, but it's club-record man Nick Woltemade who feels to have taken the baton from Isak as he leaves Tyneside and makes his way over to Liverpool.
Why Newcastle signed Nick Woltemade
Newcastle signed Woltemade from Stuttgart for £69m toward the end of August, seeing him replace Isak not just in position but as the most expensive player in United's history.
Woltemade's arrival suggested a concession in the battle with Liverpool to keep Isak at St. James' Park, and while he's unlikely to bring the same cultured and complete attacking style to Howe's door from the off, the sky really is the limit when looking at the wider picture.
Nick Woltemade scores for Stuttgart
Nick Woltemade scores for Stuttgart
Data-driven platform FBref has crunched the numbers over the past 365 days and noted that the 6 foot 6 Woltemade bears a likeness to Isak, albeit less lateral with his movements and more of a proficient outlet when in tight situations.
The site record him to rank among the top 1% of strikers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for touches in the attacking box, the top 5% for shot-creating actions and successful take-ons, and the top 15% for progressive passes per 90.
A successful take-on is recorded when a player beats their opponent by directly carrying the ball past them while retaining possession.
Woltemade might need a touch of work in front of goal, but he has a wider scope than Wissa, who would be expected to provide a consistent stream of goals, having scored 19 for the Bees last year.
Newcastle-Wissa-Woltemade-stats
There's no question about Woltemade's potential. Talent scout Jacek Kulig hailed his "unstoppable" performances with Germany U21s after a terrific year with Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, where he scored 12 times from only 17 starting appearances.
However, all this boils down to the brief prowess the 23-year-old has shown and the belief that Howe can grow him into a player of Isak's ability. He has not yet reached that stage.
Therefore, some might question whether Newcastle have slightly overpaid for the German international. Arrivals were always going to come at a premium for the north east outfit, with all aware of their struggles in identifying and convincing a high-level forward to join their project.
According to Transfermarkt, Woltemade is only worth €30m (equating to roughly £26m), having scored just 14 goals across 70 appearances in the Bundesliga, hitherto sharpening his skills lower down the ladder.
He was integral in winning the DFB-Pokal last season and has shown he has prolific potential within him, but to expect this record signing to arrive and pack as heavy a punch as Isak landed on England's elite simply isn't realistic, at least within the early days of his time on Tyneside.
Stuttgart's Nick Woltemade
Stuttgart's Nick Woltemade
And this would be highlighted through Isak's £125m price tag, which in fact stretches roughly £100m higher than the value that Woltemade has been projected to hold.
Had Wissa not been signed, Howe might have found himself with a steeper task in lifting Woltemade up to the height of his ceiling, but when considering the circumstances, this should be viewed as promising stuff from the club.
Still, a combined figure of £124m (including add-ons) puts the pressure on for such players to effectively replace a world-class marksman with two talents in the aggregate.
Newcastle United's Alexander Isak celebrates scoring their second goal
Newcastle United's Alexander Isak celebrates scoring their second goal
Woltemade, then, might need to start playing like an elite Premier League striker from the moment he walks onto the pitch, and perhaps that could be to the detriment of the German star's bedding-in effectively at Newcastle.
He is likely to come good, but it may be a difficult start while he gets up to speed. Just look at the criticism Arsenal's Viktor Gyokeres has attracted during his early days at the Emirates Stadium. Isak's fellow Swede is one of the landmark additions of the window but cost £64m, less than Woltemade. That paints the picture of how silly season panned out in the Premier League.