The Magpies may be flying now, but that has not always been the case. Newcastle United have endured years of strife and suffering under the former rule of Mike Ashley, whose interminable hold on the club has now been released, and prosperity looms large.
The new ownership was closely followed by the appointment of Eddie Howe in the managerial role, and for all the newfound wealth, it is his aptitude that has transcended the exploits of the squad.
Going from relegation strugglers to formidable Champions League contenders in less than two years, Newcastle have rectified the wrongs of the past and then some, with sights now set on erecting an impregnable position at the forefront of the European game.
£425m
£220m
£205m
£204m
£79m
£125m
£167m
£43m
£125m
£110m
£0m
£110m
£214m
£110m
£103m
£145m
£52m
£93m
£92m
£0m
£92m
£131m
£42m
£87m
£211m
£136m
£75m
£104m
£56m
£49m
And despite the financial strength, technical director Dan Ashworth deserves all the plaudits for the diligence in conducting business smoothly and shrewdly, with seven Premier League outfits yielding a higher net spend across the 2023 summer transfer window.
As mentioned, it really hasn't always been like this, with there being some pretty stonking howlers over the years.
Who are Newcastle's worst signings?
Okay, let's start with the big one: Michael Owen. The 2001 Ballon d'Or winner, Owen had blitzed onto the scene as one of the most prodigious youngsters of English birth in decades, having scored 46 Premier League goals as a teenager – the record total to this day.
Signed from Real Madrid for £17m in 2005 – a club record, beating the £15m fee paid for Alan Shearer – Owen arrived with a weight of expectation but only managed to score 30 goals across four seasons due to incessant injuries that ultimately proved the downfall of his position as one of the finest strikers in Europe.
It was exacerbated by the winding down of his contract amid a relegation battle and his since criticism of the club, alienating him from the fanbase.
And who could forget the likes of Remy Cabella, who signed from French side Montpellier for just over £7m before scoring just once from 34 matches and heading back to his homeland with his tail between his legs in 2015.
The list goes on, and while Matt Ritchie, who plies his trade on Tyneside to this day, doesn't represent the worst piece of business of all time at Newcastle, he is undoubtedly a reminder of the previous misdealings before the genesis of this developing golden age.
When did Newcastle sign Matt Ritchie?
Newcastle signed Ritchie from Bournemouth for an initial £10m in 2016 following the Tyneside club's relegation from the Premier League in 2016, and while he has chalked up 57 direct contributions from 198 appearances since joining, 26 came in the first season, in the Championship.
Since that maiden stage in black and white, the 34-year-old's influence has waned further by the season, where once he flickered brightly on the Premier League stage, now he scarcely emits the faintest glow.
Indeed, the 16-cap Scotland international has yet to feature this season – an unused substitute against Manchester City in both the league and the Carabao Cup – which compounds his recent woes after forging only ten outings across all competitions last term – failing to start once in the top-flight.
When combining his transfer fee with his wages – Ritchie earns £45k-per-week and has done so the duration of his Toon career – it's deducible that he will have cost the club £29m in total by the summer of 2024, when his contract will expire. All of that rather alarmingly means when you consider his 24 goals in black & white, he's set them back £1.2m every strike.
There is certainly no notion of renewal, and nor should there be; the Toon are very much on the rise, and as ruthless as it sounds, it is imperative that Howe eradicates the residual inferiority from the days of the outfit's past.
How good has Matt Ritchie been at Newcastle?
Once chastised for his "woeful" performances by journalist Kev Lawson, Ritchie has not been performing well over the past few years, very much at the epicentre of his side's troubles in 2021 before Howe's arrival.
Indeed, with Howe joining in November 2021, Ritchie would earn all 14 of his starts in the top flight before the turn of the calendar year, emphasising the absence of trust from his former Bournemouth boss, who oversaw his sale in the first place.
In fact, the dynamic ace has only scored twice since the 2019/20 season, with both goals coming in that very Premier League campaign, emphasising just how wide of the mark his displays have been over the past several years, where more than a few Magpies have been left scratching their heads as to why he still remains at St. James' Park at all.
There are still certain members of the Newcastle squad to need moving on, and alongside Ritchie stands fellow full-back Javier Manquillo, who has been similarly peripheral since Howe took to the helm.
The Spaniard was signed for £4.5m from Spanish side Atletico Madrid in 2017, one year after Ritchie, and has only made 110 appearances, branded "Championship" level by Jamie Carragher, who lamented his "really poor" defending.
Manquillo, aged 29, is also headed for the exit at the end of the season, and while he rather steals a living at £35k-per-week, he has cost the club far less than his Scottish counterpart, albeit having played a role of even greater insignificance.
Having only made 19 displays under Howe, Manquillo's acquisition is definitely not one that will go down in eternal memory, and if it does, it will be for the wrong reasons.
Ritchie was once a solid Premier League player but he has fallen onto the fringe over the past few years, and as Newcastle bask in the rising sun at St. James' Park, the veteran playmaker has unfortunately been hung up to dry, when he should have moved on years ago. Indeed, if there was ever a time to banish him, now is surely that time.