Eddie Howe will welcome Newcastle United players and staff back to the training ground tomorrow safe in the knowledge that three signings are already in the bag.
Newcastle moved quickly to complete a permanent move for Matt Targett before the window even opened and followed that up by signing goalkeeper Nick Pope and agreeing a deal in principle with Lille to bring in Sven Botman. Botman passed a medical on Tyneside on Monday and the formalities of the transfer are now set to be concluded after the Dutchman put pen to paper on a five-year deal.
Only Aston Villa have made more senior signings than Newcastle in the Premier League this summer and this represents a real shift in policy after the previous regime often left it late in the Ashley era. Newcastle's owners' contrasting desire to get players in early should not come as a huge surprise, though, as Howe prefers to do a lot of his business before the players are even back for pre-season.
