Newcastle chief: Summer was 'not chaotic' with Howe exit prepared for

Howe's shock resignation in July triggered Newcastle's immediate move to appoint Matthias Jaissle, who has begun his tenure unbeaten. According to Wilson, the club's contingency planning meant the transition was executed swiftly rather than painfully.

"Eddie is an exceptionally talented coach and at some point that meant he was probably going to do something else and we had to be prepared for that," Wilson told Sky Sports, emphasising they had "prepared for a number of months".

The summer also saw departures of Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal for £75m, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon. Wilson acknowledged Guimaraes' exit was not "part of the plan", but stressed other losses fitted their strategy. Newcastle raised nearly £250m from player sales and signed eight players aged 24 or under, with headline signings including Nico Gonzalez and Matias Fernandez-Pardo.

To complete the Fernandez-Pardo deal on Deadline Day, club-record signing Nick Woltemade (£69m last summer) departed on loan to Juventus, with Fernandez-Pardo arriving from Lille for £51m.

Wilson defended the necessity of being a "trading club" to maintain Premier League success, whilst the club remains subject to a £5.2m UEFA fine for financial sustainability breaches, with a further £6m suspended.