While we look forward to fresh faces at St James' Park, some of last year's arrivals next to step up
Newcastle United's Anthony Elanga and Nick Woltemade
Newcastle's Anthony Elanga and Nick Woltemade
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Put aside for a moment those going and those coming. Newcastle United need significant performances this crucial season from a quartet already in-house.
If we are to get anywhere and defy the prophesies of doom then Nick Woltemade, Yoane Wissa and Anthony Elanga - shipped in a year ago at a cost of £179m which is far from insignificant - must start to justify such extravagance.
The fourth man under the spotlight? Eddie Howe himself.
We all know the big three attackers will be fighting to save their Newcastle careers but few would have thought at the height of his powers that it would come to this with Howe. He looked invincible - it was a matter of whether United could hold onto him if England or one of the elite clubs came calling. Now it is whether he can hold onto his job. The mighty switch has come within a year.
Since winning us the Carabao Cup, our first trophy since 1969, Howe has crashed like a kamikaze pilot. The all-powerful leader with his finger in every pot who had ruled without challenge to his authority is living not the reign of a dictator but the existence of someone who needs to prove himself.
Where he enjoyed wall to wall adulation with success-starved fans many have come to seriously question him or call for his removal.
Can Howe regain his appetite, his enthusiasm, his unshakeable belief, and come roaring back? Or is he tired and losing heart with Newcastle's strength-sapping transfer activity? If asked we will get the diplomatic answer because Eddie is ever the politician but time will tell. It is intriguing if a little painful to watch.
Certainly Newcastle United is a different world these times. We are undergoing a bigger turnover than the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace having gone from buying big and bold to shopping for kids carrying a promise and Howe must consequently put his faith and belief in youth where in the past he has been accused of a reluctance to give those of tender years their head.
The ones in whom he once put his faith - Isak, Gordon, Tonali - have deserted him or at least deserted the club which automatically burned him. He must gain control of a changing dressing-room and to do that will lean heavily upon loyalists like Dan Burn, Fabian Schar, Joelinton, Sven Botman and, if they are still here, Bruno and Jacob Murphy.
Club legend Alan Shearer has forecast that it will be a tough 18 months for Howe who is losing lots of quality and replacing it with hope and promise. I cannot disagree. There are those who are asking us to wait until the end of the transfer window before judging it and of course that is correct but what we've seen so far is alarming. The trend has been more failure to sign recruits and more big beasts leaving.
I suggest Geordies will have to wait longer than September 1 for full confirmation because the signings made so far are unknowns and until black-and-white eyes see what they see we won't know if United have bought shrewdly or gambled on potential which can take a while to materialise if at all.
Every football fan, every football club, needs hope to keep them going. It is their oxygen. We currently require a large dollop of optimism.
As for the trio of players needing an uplift like their manager Wissa and Elanga were a disaster last season and Woltemade fell off the cliff's edge after a promising start losing his position with both club and country.
As United's W-Force wilted Will Osula, a young striker many thought ripe to be sold on, burst his way through to forge a new future for himself. Right now he stands as the No 1 in the pecking order, unthinkable a short while back.
Let us have a quick look at the best and worst scenarios with our attacking trio.
Yoane Wissa
Plus: He may well benefit from full pre-season training which he denied himself a year ago and a boost in confidence through the World Cup.
Minus: He looked lost and over-awed last campaign as though a big money move to play in front of passionate and huge support was too heavy a burden.
Anthony Elanga
Plus: Like Wissa the World Cup.
Minus: Shown nothing to back up blistering pace, the problem some people saw back in his Manchester United days.
Nick Woltemade
Plus: Crowd willing him to make it and good footballing skills.
Minus: Chronic lack of pace and not a natural line leader without an obvious position to make his own.
There are a lot of questions and we need a lot of answers.
FOOTNOTE: Next up before the World Cup is packed away for another four years is the most pointless and unwanted match on the global stage.
The third place play-off is the game no one wants to take part in and no one remembers. This summer it is England v France, two countries which fell fatally wounded one step from glory. They are both lower than a snake's belly not bouncing with joy.
Such matches have taken place since 1934 yet I bet you cannot tell me the winners of any of them. Even which countries took part in which years. That is how much it means to football's millions of followers.