Unai Emery would have been preparing to visit his old club Arsenal next weekend, had he accepted Newcastle's offer at the start of the month.
Instead he is plotting a way past Manchester United in an attempt to guide Villarreal into the knockout stages of the Champions League for only the third time in the club's history.
It was a win-win for him when Newcastle came calling: either he accepted the riches on offer or stuck with the Champions League challenge.
Villarreal reached the semi-finals of the competition in 2006 and, having won them their first ever trophy last summer, Emery wants to emulate Manuel Pellegrini's achievement 15 years ago.