Newcastle United want to bring in quality players who understand what it means to play for the club as the Magpies prepare to say goodbye to another stalwart in Dwight Gayle.
Gayle is closing in on a permanent move to Stoke City after six years on Newcastle's books and those at the club have wished the striker well. It is easy to see why.
It is not an exaggeration to say that Newcastle would not even be in the Premier League if it was not for Gayle and the Londoner became the first player since Alan Shearer to score at least 20 league goals in a season when the Magpies won the Championship in 2017. Supporters have certainly not forgotten those crucial strikes against Norwich City and Leeds United, in particular.
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Although Gayle only made five late substitute appearances for Newcastle under Eddie Howe last season, tellingly, the 32-year-old remained a valued figure around the dressing room who was one of the club's best trainers. Howe, himself, has said that Gayle 'deserved the utmost respect and honesty from me about how the future lay for him' because of that contribution behind the scenes.
Gayle will now be the latest member of Newcastle's Championship-winning side to leave the club after Isaac Hayden and Ciaran Clark joined Norwich City and Sheffield United respectively. Given how Hayden's loan deal will be made permanent if the midfielder meets various performance-related criteria, and Clark is out of contract next summer, it feels like an end of an era in some ways.
Howe clearly wanted his side to evolve and improve, but the Newcastle boss was also well-aware of the 'brilliant' service these players gave to the club over the years. Indeed, it is easy to forget that Gayle, Hayden and Clark made a combined 420 appearances for Newcastle after the trio all joined the club in the summer of 2016.
Therefore, as well as signing quality additions, Howe has wanted to bring in characters who know what it means to play for Newcastle as Gayle, Hayden and Clark did. In fact, Howe considers that ability to handle the pressure of playing for the club to be of 'vital' importance when assessing the profile of new signings.
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