When the £300m takeover of Newcastle United was finally given the green light, many believed the north east outfit would become a spending machine. Throwing money at top targets who would otherwise be pining for 'Big Six' teams, steamrolling their rivals to signings and buying their way to the top.
Instead, the Magpies' approach has been a tad more measured, with the club unwilling to pay over the odds and happy to walk away from any deals they aren't 100 per cent sure of. Of course, £200m has been spent since Eddie Howe's arrival, though the boss has tried to create a talented dressing room without superstars who believe they are bigger than the football club as a whole.
The club are benefitting from that approach, overachieving this term as they upset the Premier League apple cart at the first time of asking. With the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea all failing to find their rhythm, the Premier League behemoths of old are reaching for their chequebooks to try and stop the rot.
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Liverpool wasted no time forking out £40m on Cody Gakpo following a strong World Cup with the Netherlands, just weeks after Jurgen Klopp's comments regarding Newcastle having 'no ceiling' when it came to finances. While Antonio Conte will no doubt be asking for yet more north London additions after a derby day defeat that leaves his Spurs side five points and two places behind Newcastle.
Yet is is Chelsea who are making the headlines this month. With a seemingly scattergun, thoughtless approach to transfers, new American owner Todd Boehly is spending like Financial Fair Play doesn't exist for the west London side.
The Blues sit tenth in the Premier League despite an outlay of more than £300m on transfer fees across the 2022/23 campaign before the arrival of their latest addition - Mykhailo Mudryk.
Seemingly Arsenal-bound last week, Mudryk's Shakhtar Donetsk exit suddenly took a turn over the weekend as Chelsea significantly gazumped the Gunners' offer with an improved salary proposal. Mudryk signed on the dotted line, penning a seven-and-a-half-year deal with Graham Potter's side.
The length of the deal has raised eyebrows but it looks to be a smart approach by Chelsea as they seek to exploit the accounting technique of annual amortisation to adhere to FFP rules. Amortisation is the practice of evenly dividing a player's transfer fee across the length of their contract.
Mudryk's £88m fee split over his mammoth contract would go down in Chelsea's accounts as a £8.8m expense each year. Benoit Badashile who signed for the club earlier this month has also signed a fairly length contract with the club.
Whichever way you spin it, a figure of that nature still presents a huge risk when you consider the 22-year-old has not even played 50 senior games in the Ukrainian league and already occupies a position where Chelsea were already well stocked.
Newcastle were also keen on Mudryk's signature after being alerted by his performances both at home and in Europe for Shakhtar. It was a similar case when Darwin Nunez was playing for Benfica before joining Liverpool in the summer.
The Tyneside outfit are identifying the best players but know when they are beaten in the race to try and sign them. They, despite their current league position, know they cannot compete with Chelsea and Liverpool financially just yet. They cannot pull off Bruno-esque coups each and every time.
Instead, Howe continues to made fans aware of Newcastle's keen eye on FFP. It is a negative abbreviation in the eyes of supporters but goes a long way to explaining why the club are yet to open the chequebook this month.
Despite being only the tenth-biggest spenders this season, Newcastle, as mentioned, have forked out £200m in only two transfer windows. No key additions have been sold in that time, high-earners are still on the wage bill despite leaving on loan and the club have only secured a limited number of small partnerships in the last 12 months.
New Chief Commercial Officer Peter Silverstone is working on partnerships behind the scenes but the Magpies are yet to score that killer, knockout sponsorship deal that will bring in game-changing revenue on a long-term basis. Talk of Adidas returning as kit manufacturer would be a huge boost both financially and for strip-loving supporters.
Newcastle also feel like they do not need to spend big this month. Last January saw the need for sweeping, relegation-beating changes in the squad. Last summer saw them add four much-needed bits of quality.
This time around it is about strengthening where needed. Adding depth to under-resourced areas of the squad and keeping funds in the bank for when they are really needed. Amanda Staveley and co have publicly talked of sustained growth since their very first days in charge.
“With Financial Fair Play, we have restraints, and we have things that we have to work within, so we can’t just go out and spend money on players like maybe teams could have done in the past, and totally change their squad within one transfer window. That is not an option for us," she said in one of her early interviews as Newcastle boss.
Howe admits his midfield is in need of strengthening but it is unlikely Newcastle will be pulling off any major £100m deals this month. They'll leave the panic-buying to the teams desperately trying to play catch up.
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