Newcastle United's pursuit of Sandro Tonali reaffirms that the club are not in the game to simply make up the numbers or mess around - it is in many ways a reminder to competitors around them that the Magpies mean business.
It seems daft in many ways for praising the hierarchy for scouting out a target, making an approach, agreeing to terms, and then flying out to complete the medical - all in a matter of days. After all, isn't that how a football club should be run?
Decisive, clinical, and to the point? Well, that is Newcastle United of today, but not of old. Today's Newcastle United is one that sells not a stepping stone to bigger things but rather a club in which a player can achieve the biggest and best - they sell ambition which more importantly is underpinned with a proper plan.
Make no mistake just how big of a coup signing Tanoali is. A young man whose entire family is AC Milan crazy, a man who recently said he would not make the 'mistake' of leaving the Red and Blacks because he wanted to become a legend. At the age of 23, time is certainly on his side to do that.
READ MORE: Newcastle United move to next phase of transfer plan with Sandro Tonali wage statement
Yet, Newcastle - and specifically director of football Dan Ashworth - has persuaded Tonali that Tyneside is right for him. This is not the same as persuading James Maddison to move to Newcastle from a relegated Leicester City side - this quite frankly, is a whole other level.
AC Milan despite some troubles off the field - the sacking of club legend Paolo Maldini for one - are still a force to be reckoned with. Champions League semi-finalists with another go at Europe's top competition to come again next season after a top 4 finish in Serie A - with three players, including Tonali, in the overall team of the year. They are a side on the cusp of something special, and yet United have managed to persuade one of the key players to leave.
If anyone doubted the pull of Newcastle United - this signing should silence them. Yes, Tonali is set for a bumper pay rise, and indeed some in Milan believe anything over £50 million for Tonali is overpaying for the midfielder but given his age and the other sides that have scouted him, Newcastle will look at it as a signing that sends out of a statement.
Some will point to the funds that the Saudi-back consortium are perceived to have - an open chequebook in the mind of some - but they have shown a determination to stick to financial fair play and not to throw money at their overall ambition of turning United into a title-challenging side.
Every player who arrives is scouted extensively with no stone unturned - not only how they fit into the team but their attitude and application and much more, and the small pool of players who make it onto the list for Newcastle after ticking all the boxes, has so far paid off for the club. There is no scattergun approach as many feared there would be. There is in many ways a narrow approach to the transfer window but there is certainly not a negative, far from it. Instead, it offers focus and that clinical edge that allowed them to get the steal on Sven Botman, Bruno Guimaraes, and now Tonali.
Of course, they are adaptable - if a player becomes available who they like, they may well move for him even if it that position is not necessarily a priority - but overall a calm and measured approach to signing players, is the approach. But with that being said, it is also refreshing to see a realization that while you of course try to get the best deal for the club, if you want the best then that comes with a price - and lowballing selling teams is not going to work. After all, why waste your time offering a price you know won't get accepted? Newcastle are not in the mindset to waste their own time. Negotiating but negotiating sensibly is an approach many will applaud.
It was always felt Newcastle would be keen to get in players before the pre-season tour of America - Tonali represents that. Currently, away on international duty with the Italian U21s, he may only be afforded a short break before heading out to The States in July with his new club but the ability to mix and meet his new teammates, and therefore become settled as soon as possible, will be key to ensure he hits the ground running.
The very fact that Newcastle have moved early, coupled with the price tag and calibre of Tonali plus the desire to get the deal done as quickly as possible by sending club staff out to Cluj-Napoca in Romania - where Tonali is on international duty - to complete the medical reaffirms a total switch in the way the club operated under the previous ownership.
The current owners are looking to build and move forward - not stand and stagnate. Indeed, reports in Italy claim that Ashworth is also looking at AC Milan left-back Theo Hernandez and Juventus' Federico Chiesa - both would show that Newcastle are not looking to pad out the squad but improve it for what will be a challenging campaign next season. But more than that, it shows the importance of having a strong team away from the dugout.
A scouting system backed by a director of football who can go in for the kill. It's been clear to most that Newcastle needed a central midfielder - no more so than toward the end of last season when that position was really down to the bare bones. Within the first week or so of the window, that priority has been sorted. No waiting about, no messing around. The problem was highlighted and dealt with.
It's ironic that the last Italian to play for Newcastle was Antonio Barreca - a left-back, and if you take that position as an example - just how many years under the previous ownership was that weakness left without a remedy?
Whisper it quietly but Newcastle United are acting like a big club and their rivals will be taking note.
