Eleventh-hour moves are nothing new for Federico Fernandez. It was on deadline day, after all, that the defender joined Newcastle United in the first place after a helicopter was sent to Swansea to pick up some precious cargo in 2018.
However, there really was not a minute to spare when the Argentine finalised his latest last-minute switch to Elche less than five weeks ago. Newcastle players and staff were on a scheduled day off, following the defeat at Liverpool, and Fernandez spent most of that Thursday on the phone to his agent and the club before driving to St James' Park to rip up his contract and sign for Elche as a free agent.
Fernandez did not have time to say a proper goodbye - the centre-back plans to return to the training ground in the coming months to do just that - but Eddie Howe phoned the 33-year-old before he flew out to Spain to start his new chapter.
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"We were speaking about my time at Newcastle and the relationship that we had," Fernandez told ChronicleLive. "He said thanks for how I had been even when I was not playing. From my side, it was the same. I thanked him for coming to the club and helping us make a real impact to start winning games.
"Eddie and his staff, from day one, came in with a really good spirit and organisation with everything. The training was a huge change for us from what we had come from in terms of intensity and the detail, and how competitive it was. He tried to keep everyone fit and competing for a place. That was really good.
"I said to him and the staff when I left that they are in a very good place to have a future in Newcastle. They are well prepared."
Was it any wonder that Howe admitted he could not speak 'highly enough' of such an 'incredible professional' after Fernandez completed his move to Elche following four years on Tyneside? Rather than sulk because of a lack of game time, Fernandez continued to push and support those around him at the training ground during an injury-disrupted season last term.
When Fernandez did feature, the experienced veteran played his own small part during a dark winter, whether it was calming the situation when Ciaran Clark was sent off after just nine minutes against Norwich City or helping Newcastle over the line as a late substitute when Howe's side clung on to claim their first victory of the campaign against Burnley a few days later.
You can see why Fernandez's team-mates put his name forward when the club's leadership group was formed shortly after Howe was appointed. Fernandez, who wore the captain's armband on occasion, was among those senior pros who helped keep the group together when the dressing room could so easily have folded on a number of occasions over the years.
"I spoke with a few of the lads when I left," he said. "Matt Ritchie mentioned that with Jamaal [Lascelles] and a few others that had stayed during my four years, we managed to keep Newcastle in the league.
"He said, 'We had really good moments so don't underestimate what we have done'. This is something nice as well.
"We supported each other to try and get Newcastle in the best place. Now the situation has changed for the good but years before, as players, we tried to manage the team to improve everyone at the club. We did it well.
"Things were very different. We needed to stick together with the group we had. If someone came in, they had to have the same spirit to fight for the club and the fans.
"No matter what situation you are in, the fans will always support you with a full house at home so make them proud. They ask for this. In the end, we managed it. Sometimes, day by day, you don't stop to think about it, but what Matty said was right."
It goes without saying that the club Fernandez left was very different to the one he joined in 2018 but there was a reason why the defender, who had won Italian Cups and played in big games in the Champions League and World Cup, 'really pushed' to move to St James'. Fernandez may have been settled at Swansea, but the former Argentina international jumped at the chance to be reunited with former boss Rafa Benitez after the pair worked together at Napoli.
The reunion did not last particularly long - Benitez left at the end of the season after growing frustrated with the constraints of the Ashley regime - but Fernandez remained an important figure under successor Steve Bruce. In fact, Fernandez played more games under the 'more classic' Bruce than any other manager at Newcastle.
However, by the time the club's takeover was finally completed a year ago, Bruce was sacked 13 days later with Newcastle in deep trouble in the relegation zone. The players quickly found themselves in the loop, unlike the previous era, and Fernandez recalled how owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi were 'very close' to the squad, 'especially in the beginning', and explained 'what was going on'.
The flurry of signings that followed under Howe in 2022 may have signalled the end of Fernandez's time at Newcastle, but no one was happier to see the club show some ambition again. In fact, Fernandez, whose youngest daughter, Victoria, was born in the RVI in the city, admitted he will 'always have a Geordie connection' after representing such a 'massive club'.
"When I was in Swansea and I played at St James' Park, it was a place where you thought, 'Maybe one day I want to play for them,' he said. "I had that chance.
"As a little kid, I remember Newcastle being at the top, fighting for the title. The fans are amazing for how they live for football.
"If they are doing well, you can feel a different spirit in the city. They push us in the right way. At home was something special but, even away, Newcastle have the best fans. They are loud and don't have their shirts on - even when it's December!"
It will fall to others to deliver for these supporters going forward and Fernandez has high hopes for fellow centre-back Sven Botman, who is 'physically really strong', while 'Geordie man' Dan Burn offers a 'lot of confidence, composure and leadership'. Fabian Schar, meanwhile, has 'really improved since the first day he arrived', according to Fernandez, and captain Jamaal Lascelles 'wants to compete and push the others'.
Fernandez called Lascelles et al team-mates for so long but the 33-year-old is now part of a new group at Elche where he has a whopping five countrymen to help him settle in, including former PSG star Javier Pastore. Fernandez's wife, Florencia, and daughters, Valentina and Victoria, will also be moving over from Tyneside to join him later this month.
Yet Fernandez, who was hailed a 'warrior' in Newcastle's farewell message, will continue to keep an eye on his former club from afar. As far as Fernandez is concerned, the Magpies are 'only moving in one direction and that's up'.
"They are in a good way," he added. "Now, every year, try to improve the squad, get quality players, the right players, for what they are building. Then you never know when this first trophy might arrive. I hope soon. You need to believe it. I know Eddie and the staff will put them in the spirit where they need to fight for these trophies to come."
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