Years of hard work and heavy spending from the hierarchy during the Eddie Howe era saw Newcastle United end their 70-year wait for a piece of silverware at St James’ Park.

However, the quality and stability built during such a tenure have been ripped away from the core and forced the board to lay down new plans for success in the Premier League.

From managerial changes to an overhaul of the senior ranks due to high-profile departures, the fanbase have simply had to sit back, watch things unfold and hope for the best.

To cope with the sheer magnitude of big-money departures, a small fortune of funds have been spent to replace key squad members - but not all funds have been spent effectively.

Why Newcastle got it all wrong by signing Wissa

Alexander Isak’s departure from Newcastle was arguably the most damaging blow for the club, with the Swede totally burning his bridges with fans, but also leaving a huge hole at the top end of the pitch.

In an attempt to replace the talisman’s efforts in attacking areas, the Magpies hierarchy forked out a reported £55m to secure the signature of Yoane Wissa from Brentford.

The DR Congo international came off the back of a 20-goal top-flight campaign the year prior, and was subsequently seen as an ideal option to replace the £125m man.

However, the move to Tyneside for the 30-year-old has been far from successful, with the centre-forward only netting one league goal in his 24 outings to date.

New boss Matthias Jaissle has handed Wissa an opportunity to resurrect his career on Tyneside, starting him in all five league games - only managing to score once in the process.

The £55m fee paid for his signature was a mega overspend, but the move has been made worse knowing he only had one year left on his deal with the Bees prior to his big-money switch.

Replacing Isak’s goals was always going to be a tricky task for the African star, but his measly goal tally demonstrates the struggles he’s endured since his move last summer.

Why Newcastle selling £22m star was a huge mistake

Despite spending over £110m on landing replacements for the Swedish international last season, Newcastle saw a sizable drop off in goals during last season’s edition of the Premier League.

The Magpies netted 23% fewer goals than during his final campaign on Tyneside, with such a decline resulting in the club ending the 2025/26 campaign in the bottom half.

Jaissle too is yet to find his own answer to the centre-forward problem at St James’ Park, with no number nine in his squad scoring more than once in any of the first five games of the new season.

Any issues endured over recent years could have easily been solved had the previous hierarchy decided to keep hold of centre-forward Aleksandar Mitrovic.

The Serbian international was seen as a high-potential attacking option after his move from Anderlecht in the summer of 2015, but it’s safe to say he struggled to impress with limited opportunities.

He started less than 30 matches during his three years on Tyneside, but still managed to net 17 times - including nine during his debut campaign in the Premier League.

However, the Magpies board sold him to Fulham for a reported £22m in the summer of 2018, with such a decision one that has undoubtedly proved to be a huge mistake.

He developed into one of the Cottagers’ best ever attacking options, subsequently finding the back of the net 99 times during his 186 appearances over a five-year period.

43 of the aforementioned goals came during 44 Championship appearances in just one season, which saw him set the record for the most goals scored by a player in England’s second tier.

Mitrovic has since taken his goalscoring exploits to Saudi Arabia, as the 32-year-old scored a phenomenal 68 times in his 79 appearances in the Middle East.

His efforts helped Jorge Jesus’ men claim the Saudi league title in 2023/24, with the attacker winning more trophies than Newcastle since his departure eight years ago.

During such a period, he’s netted a remarkable 185 goals at club level and constantly showed the Magpies that they made the wrong call in allowing him to depart the club.

Given his remarkable numbers in front of goal, there’s no denying the club offloaded the talisman too prematurely and their loss has been other clubs' gain in recent years.

The Al-Rayyan man would have been a consistent starter for the club over recent seasons, but ultimately for Jaissle, he won’t have the luxury of working with the Serbian due to the board’s failures.