Newcastle United may have the richest owners in the world, but do not expect Eddie Howe to change tack in January.
Howe has regularly tapped into his contacts over the years, such as recruitment consultant Anton Robinson, who once played for him, to find out more about his targets, whether it is their living situation, their interests outside the game or their internal motivations.
Given Newcastle's newfound wealth, these character references are going to be even more important in order to sign players who want to join the club for the right reasons as the Magpies bid to stay up.
David Webb, who was Bournemouth's head of recruitment for a spell during Howe's time at the Vitality Stadium, has no doubt the Newcastle boss will leave no stone unturned in that respect.
"For Eddie, once you had done all your recruitment work, in terms of the profile you wanted, the position, the need, the athletic capability, the technical side, the tactical side and the data side, it was about finding out intimate bits about the player's character," he told ChronicleLive.
"The dressing room is sacred in a lot of ways so looking at Newcastle's situation now and some of the players they've got, the ones they are going to look in January will be good characters as well as good players that can enhance the dressing room or bring something different to it.
"It doesn't meant they have to be squeaky clean in every aspect, but that they are good, strong characters in that they've got good values, they buy into the work ethic, they buy into the playing philosophy and they can enhance the group in a positive way."
There are targets who are understandably unsure about a move to Newcastle right now, given the Magpies' perilous position in the table, but Howe has previous when it comes to convincing players to join his side.
Take Bournemouth's move for Callum Wilson in 2014, for example. The Coventry City striker was identified as the ideal successor to Lewis Grabban - long before the latter had even left for Norwich City that same summer.
Bournemouth's tight-knit recruitment team had already compiled live match reports, spoken to former team-mates and found out why Wilson had previously been used in different positions.
However, Norwich also had a bid accepted for Wilson that same summer so the striker decided to visit both clubs before making his final decision.
Although Norwich had the better stadium and training facilities, the influence of Howe swung the deal in Bournemouth's favour.
Howe showed Wilson clips of how he saw him fitting into the side and outlined his plan to take Bournemouth up to the Premier League within two seasons. Wilson was sold after that first face to face meeting.
It was not a one-off intervention. Jefferson Lerma's agent, Javier Piquer, told ChronicleLive that Howe was 'fundamental' to the Colombia international's £25m move to Bournemouth in 2018 because he 'always showed his interest in' the midfielder being an 'important' player for the club.
Dan Gosling's representative, David Hodgson, meanwhile, never forgot the due diligence the former Bournemouth boss did on his client, in 2014, after the 'mega methodical' Cherries watched the former Newcastle midfielder dozens of times.
"When Eddie and [assistant] Jason [Tindall] were in the room, Dan knew that these were two guys were very thoughtful about the recruitment process and how the players they brought in were going to be right for how they worked and how they trained," he told ChronicleLive.
"I can still see how Eddie's persona came across and for every word he said, Dan was thinking, 'This is the right club'. When he came out, Dan said, 'You've got to nail this deal.'"
Howe may have a greater budget at Newcastle, but the Gosling and Wilson examples serve as reminders of the sorts of characters he will ideally look to bring in next month: hard-working, honest and eager to learn.
Howe's immediate focus, however, has been on getting more out of the club's current players during a busy run of fixtures as those above him prepare for January.
The club's part-owners, Mehrdad Ghodoussi and Jamie Reuben, have taken on hands-on roles in an attempt to deliver Howe's preferred targets while Steve Nickson has continued to oversee scouting operations and background checks as Newcastle's head of recruitment.
All the while, the club's search for a director of football, which has been handled by Nolan Partners, looks set to go on into the New Year.
Recognising this, and their lack of experience at the coalface, the owners have brought in Nick Hammond as a temporary recruitment consultant.
Few know Hammond better than Alan Pardew, who worked with the former technical director at Reading and West Brom.
"Nick is a true, experienced and honest operator," the former Newcastle boss told ChronicleLive. "It's a very good move by the club."
Hammond's recruitment record at West Brom and Celtic paled in comparison to his legacy at Reading, but the new owners have not necessarily brought the 54-year-old in to identify signings.
Instead, they will look to tap into Hammond's football expertise to help deal with agents and close deals during a frenetic 31-day window.
In his previous role, as head of football operations at Celtic, Hammond personally took agents on a tour of Parkhead, telling them about the club and giving them a feel for its traditions and history.
The aim was to get representatives immersed in the fabric of the club so they could then convey that to the player and their family as Paul Monaghan, a football agent at St James' Square Sports Management, did with AEK Athens goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas last year.
However, as welcoming as Hammond was, Monaghan has warned those looking to take advantage of Newcastle's newfound wealth that 'they won't be able to pull the wool over' his eyes.
"It's not something we would do but if you were going to try to pull a fast one, you couldn't with Nick," he told ChronicleLive.
"That was quite clear to me in the first couple of minutes of meeting him. There are people out there who will try and manoeuvre things to their advantage, but you'll not get away with it with Nick. I'll tell you that now.
"He's very thorough, very commercial and an all-round good guy, but he doesn’t stand for any messing about.
"He’s certainly one of the more modern sporting directors I have met. He has a very good understanding of the game, the club and the commercial realities that are involved in bringing big players to a club. I think he will do really well at Newcastle."
We want to hear your thoughts, so LOG IN and leave your comment below.
