Newcastle United managing director Lee Charnley has revealed that the club refused to budge on their principles to sign Miguel Almiron.
At one stage, when Almiron's representatives flew to Italy to speak to Napoli and Inter Milan, United were happy to leave the room on the deal as talk of a move to Serie A for the South American was mooted.
It is believed that the overall price for Almiron stood at $30million at one stage but Newcastle made it clear how much they were prepared to shell out.
A fee of £16million was agreed but that could yet rise to £21million and break the club's transfer record.
When asked about Newcastle sticking to their principles, Charnley told the Chronicle: "In terms of the signing of Almiron we were clear with all parties what our position was based on our valuation of the player and were delighted in the end to secure his signature.
"Here is a great example of a player that has come in and immediately made a difference to the team."
United have already hinted they are prepared to sign more like Almiron this summer and state they want to bring in more "high quality" additions.
Charnley said: "In terms of how we spend our money moving forward we would envisage spending it on quality rather than quantity – players that can really make the difference and improve the team."
Everything that Lee Charnley said after meeting media in St James' Park boardroom
