Newcastle United got their act together quickly in the aftermath of their pre-season defeat to Everton
Matthias Jaissle, manager of Newcastle United, reacts after the pre-season friendly match against Everton
If there was a contest for having the worst possible end to a summer transfer window then Everton's 2026 effort must be right up there as one of the primary contenders.
The Toffees agreed to sell academy graduate Harrison Armstrong to Nottingham Forest, only to backtrack on the deal after a huge backlash from supporters. They then sold Iliman Ndiaye to Manchester City, losing their best player, although Jack Grealish did return to the club on loan in return.
Nathan Patterson was sold and replaced by Lyon's Ainsley Maitland-Niles but they now only have one senior right-back and one senior left-back in the squad.
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But the biggest misstep came right at the transfer deadline. Everton had already allowed Beto to leave to join Fiorentina and were keen to sign Folarin Balogun from Monaco as his replacement. Everton struck a £40million deal to sign the USA international but an issue arose during his medical that put the deal in doubt. That saw them pivot to launching a last gasp move for Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee on loan.
The Red Devils rejected that as they didn't have time to find sufficient cover and so Everton then returned to Monaco to renegotiate the terms of Balogun's transfer.
Monaco accepted the new proposal, Everton submitted a deal sheet to the Premier League to give them more time to secure the deal beyond the 11pm deadline but then Balogun opted to walk away from the deal and remain with Monaco.
Folarin Balogun's move to Everton fell through on deadline day
Folarin Balogun's move to Everton fell through on deadline day(Image: Elysia Su/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
It has left Everton with just one recognised centre-forward in Thierno Barry. At present, they have 18 senior players in the squad. If any of them get injured, the bench will have to be filled up with academy kids.
Everton boss David Moyes was outspoken in the media on Saturday, claiming they could not afford to lose any more players and needed reinforcements. Five players have since left, with only two brought in.
Yesterday's events have not only prompted major backlash among the fans but their head coach will surely have been left just as angry. If you are still reading this, you are probably asking what has all of this got to do with Newcastle?
It was three weeks ago today that the Toon Army trudged up to Edinburgh to watch the Magpies take on Everton at Murrayfield in Matthias Jaissle's second game in charge.
Everton ran out 3-1 winners at the home of Scottish rugby and looked like a settled Premier League outfit ready to attack the Premier League campaign.
Newcastle looked worryingly disjointed just 11 days out from their Premier League opener against Liverpool. They had no senior right-back in the squad, Bruno Guimaraes had not been replaced and there were real fears Jaissle would not have enough time to get his ideas across to his players after just one week in the job after succeeding Eddie Howe.
Fast forward three weeks and not only have Newcastle made an unbeaten start to the season but they have signed Amar Dedic for £29.5million at right-back, who has three assists in three games and has been a revelation since joining from Benfica, Nico Gonzalez has arrived for £50million in midfield and put in a stellar performance in a debut win over Tottenham and Matias Fernandez-Pardo arrived from Lille on deadline day in a £51million move which has added genuine excitement to the club's forward options.
There have no doubt been hairy moments along the way this summer but the club's revolutionary reset to replace some of the club's biggest assets with eight players aged 24 and under has not only drastically shifted the squad demographic but also given them a clear identity.
By contrast, Everton are in an absolute mess and if you had asked anyone in attendance in Edinburgh on August 12 which club you would be describing as such, not many would have guessed it would have been the Toffees.
Newcastle have always privately pleaded for their summer business to be judged on September 1. The proof, of course, will be in the results this season but the positivity in Tyneside now is in short supply on the blue side of Merseyside. And that shows just how quickly things can change in football.