When Newcastle became the richest club in the world at the end of 2021, many were anticipating a flurry of transfers in January as the Magpies were finally blessed with a war chest of funds.
However, it's not quite gone that way, as although they did announce the signing of former Tottenham star Kieren Trippier in a deal worth £15million from Atletico Madrid, they're struggling to complete signings elsewhere.
Staring relegation in the face, Newcastle are desperate to bring in defensive reinforcements, but with Lille holding firm to a bold £45m valuation, the Magpies are even starting to consider themselves priced out of a deal.
And with their inability to get a deal done with Reims for their 19-year-old striker Hugo Ekitike, is only humbling the new owners even more.
Newcastle's struggles are far from the joys that Manchester City and Chelsea experienced when they secured their own takeovers in 2003 and 2008, and their early record has provided the perfect case study for the Magpies to follow.
What's going wrong for Newcastle?
It's never easy to attract high-end talent when you're sat on just one Premier League win, and their shock defeat at home to Cambridge United in the FA Cup won't help matters either.
And granted, the introduction of FFP and the mass inflation of the modern day has altered things slightly from when City and Chelses were taken over.
But whereas City and Chelsea appeared to have a vision, and were able to identify the profile of player that they wanted to bring in straight away, Newcastle look lost and disjointed, showing interest in almost anyone that's available.
Trippier may be an experienced signing, but away from that Newcastle are pursuing an array of unproven talent from a variety of league's and they should prioritise deals within England, just as Chelsea and City did primarily in their early stages of new ownership.
What business did Chelsea do?
In Chelsea's first full season with Roman Abramovich as owner they made an abundance of high-profile acquisitions such as Hernan Crespo, Adiran Mutu and Claude Makelele, but it was their prioritisation from within England that helped lay the foundations.
They signed the experienced Juan Sebastian Veron from Manchester United, and completed a deal for highly rated Damien Duff who was excelling for Blackburn at the time.
But they also gave a fresh opportunity to many young and hungry stars who were awaiting their chance on the big stage, as Glen Johnson and Joe Cole were snapped up from West Ham, and Scott Parker and Wayne Bridge were given opportunities too.
Newcastle have been linked with a mixture of Premier League outcasts and up and coming stars, and they should look within the league to snap up talent.
What business did City do?
City had a bit more of a grace period, as the Citizens were initially taken over before the big one, as Sheikh Mansour stepped in to mop up the mess that Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra created.
It was Shinawatra that initially took over in 2007 until his accounts were seized by the Thai military, when nearly £100m had already been spent.
Mansour came in to take control, and even signed Robinho on their first day as they arrived when the transfer window was coming to an end.
City therefore had to wait for the January transfer window to splash their riches, similarly to Newcastle, but they too opted for a similar approach to Chelsea.
Nigel De Jong was the only signing that window from a foreign club, and City went for Premier League experience as they completed deals for Shay Given, Craig Bellamy and Wayne Bridge too.
Where does Howe go from here?
Newcastle have learned they can't risk just splashing the cash unnecessarily, but to lay down the foundations they should look to sign players that are proven in the Premier League, or at least ones that are comfortable in England.
As proved with the big-money signing of Joelinton, foreign leagues can be a major gamble, and Newcastle should look in house as City and Chelsea did to stabilise their Premier League status and lay the foundations down for a rebuild.
It's not an easy ask in January to prize talent away from your league rivals, but there are many stars that are surplus to requirements that could do a job for Newcastle, and thrive under a fresh start.
With three weeks of the window remaining, Howe has his work cut out, but there is still plenty of time to get things right.
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