Newcastle United have yet to make a summer signing but the Magpies have at least managed to move on a number of out of favour players - which can only help Steve Bruce's push for new faces in the final weeks of the window.
While the Magpies have admittedly signed Callum Wilson, Ryan Fraser, Jamal Lewis, Jeff Hendrick and Mark Gillespie in the last 12 months, and handed out new contracts to a number of first-team stalwarts, several decent earners have also left the club in that same period.
Jack Colback, Rolando Aarons, Achraf Lazaar, Christian Atsu and Henri Saivet are just some of the names who have departed to help reduce the club's wage bill a little.
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Newcastle ultimately only received a fee for Aarons, who joined Huddersfield back in January, but a mutual agreement was reached to terminate Lazaar's contract a month later. Colback, Atsu and Saivet, meanwhile, were all released at the end of their contracts.
Although the above-mentioned were all respected professionals, who Steve Bruce was keen to keep involved on the training ground at various points, only Atsu ever made a competitive appearance under the Newcastle head coach following his appointment two years ago.
Therefore, as we approach the business end of the window, it can only be a positive for Newcastle to no longer have any non-playing senior footballers on the books.
Newcastle have also managed to raise funds for a number of well-liked players who were into the final year of their contracts, including DeAndre Yedlin and Florian Lejeune, while veterans such as Andy Carroll and Rob Elliot departed at the end of their respective deals.
Yoshinori Muto has also left the club by mutual consent and the 29-year-old's departure will surely only aid Bruce's push for new signings.
Bruce had originally hoped to bring in three or four 'quality' additions, but the Newcastle head coach is working with a limited budget during a particularly slow window.
Given how Newcastle are looking at loans as well as potential bargains, having some form of a wage budget is going to be crucial.
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