"A big summer."
Manager Eddie Howe was not the only senior figure behind the scenes at Newcastle United to utter those words before the summer transfer window opened.
The club may have ended a long wait for silverware and qualified for the Champions League, but the importance of this window was not lost on anyone.
And it has been big - but for frustrating reasons.
Newcastle have lost out on a host of targets. Alexander Isak has been subject of a bid from Liverpool. It looks possible that Manchester United could sign their main striker target Benjamin Sesko, after Liverpool snatched away Hugo Ekitike in July.