Newcastle: Tottenham’s Sandro Tonali hunt shows chasm between clubs

These words were quite prophetic.

Newcastle managed to sign highly-rated goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen from Stade de Reims for £18.5 million before the window even officially opened.

But just when it became apparent that they were in pole position to land the best target, Victor Munoz, the Spanish winger joined Liverpool from Osasuna.

It felt like Groundhog Day for fans last summer after Joao Pedro, Hugo Ekitike, James Trafford and Benjamin Sesko opted for transfers to Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United respectively.

As a result, Newcastle have slipped further down their target list this time last year and, apart from defender Malick Thiaw, have yet to see sufficient return on a net spend of over £100m.

The club cannot afford to see history repeat itself, but it is easy to forget the window that opened on 15 June.

It is also worth remembering that Newcastle have managed to attract a number of promising players before.

Howe’s speeches focused on development, how his team is doing and how they can help take a player’s game to another level, rather than making any guarantees about the team’s success.

Not every transfer has been successful under Howe, but it was significant that Gordon repeatedly pointed to this “culture” of development at Newcastle when sealing a dream move to Barcelona.

Another international player who followed Gordon to Newcastle also continued to develop.

“He wanted to come to Newcastle,” a source said.

“He had a few more opportunities, but he had a good chat with the manager and believed in the project, the squad, the club and the league. This is where he wanted to belong.

“His ambition is quite high. He wants to measure himself against the best elite players. This was just a game between him and Newcastle. There’s no doubt about it.”