Newcastle United spent almost £280million rebuilding their squad this summer, but one of their most important additions never stepped onto the pitch.
Matthias Jaissle cost Newcastle around £9.5million in compensation when he was appointed from Al-Ahli, according to Sky Sports.
Seven competitive matches into his tenure, Newcastle have won four, drawn two and lost just once.
That alone does not prove the German has transformed the club.
But the early evidence suggests Newcastle have already changed significantly under their new head coach.
Jaissle has quickly made Newcastle his team
The most obvious change has come through personnel.
Joe Willock has been one major beneficiary. He scored his third goal of the season in the 2-1 victory over Hull City after appearing likely to leave earlier in the summer.
Young midfielder Sean Steur has also quickly entered Jaissle’s plans, while the Newcastle boss has been deliberately patient with expensive summer additions Bazoumana Touré and Aladji Bamba.
Jaissle recently explained why the £75million pair are being introduced gradually rather than being forced immediately into the starting XI.
That willingness to make individual decisions rather than simply follow transfer fees is encouraging.
Newcastle’s response to adversity has mattered too.
They recovered from 2-0 down to draw with Bournemouth before suffering their first major setback when Leeds won 4-1 at Elland Road.
Six days later, an injury-hit Newcastle side beat Hull.
Jaissle described the commitment shown in that victory as “exceptional”.
Newcastle still have one major warning sign
There is also a reason not to get carried away.
The results have been better than some of the underlying performances.
Our analysis of Newcastle’s early expected-goals numbers highlighted a major concern: United have been producing goals from relatively limited chance quality.
That will be difficult to sustain across an entire Premier League season.
Jaissle therefore deserves credit for navigating a huge summer transition and an increasingly severe injury list, but Newcastle’s attacking process still needs to improve.
That makes the three-week international break important.
Newcastle do not return until their Premier League trip to Coventry City on 12 October.
Jaissle now has time to address the underlying weaknesses.
Newcastle spent heavily on players this summer, but the £9.5million committed to changing the man in the dugout is already shaping almost every part of the rebuild.
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