Even by Newcastle United’s modern standards, a lot happened over the summer.Three key players sold for huge money, the departure of Eddie Howe and the appointment of Matthias Jaissle, and up to £300million ($406.3m) invested in eight new signings, all under 24.Ross Wilson, Newcastle’s sporting director, and David Hopkinson, the chief executive officer (CEO), were the two key decision-makers during the window, while Simon Capper, the chief financial officer (CFO), was also an influential voice.That trio met with the local media at a hotel on the city’s Quayside on Friday to review the summer window. The Athletic was there, and Chris Waugh analyses what they said…Window went almost entirely “to plan”Despite what felt externally like a rollercoaster summer, Wilson claims Newcastle’s hierarchy had a blueprint which, Bruno Guimaraes leaving aside, essentially went “to plan”.That feels a little incongruous, given the head coach Newcastle determined should lead the rebuild asked to leave on the eve of pre-season, and when the public gazumpings by Liverpool and Aston Villa for Victor Munoz and Johan Manzambi are considered. Yet Newcastle are content with how they implemented their strategy, which has seen the squad’s average age reduced substantially and high-earners who wanted a fresh challenge moved on.“Genuinely, no — it never felt chaotic inside,” Wilson said of a “good, fun and really enjoyable” window. “There’s no point pretending otherwise; we didn’t want to lose Bruno. That was really disappointing, although we were happy with (the) numbers.“But everything else that happened was part of the plan. That does not mean every single player (who signed) was No 1 on our list, but that is never the case in any window. Clearly we were disappointed a couple of times. No club goes into the window and gets every target they set out to get. If they say they did, it’s a lie.“The plan has gone exactly as we set out on day one — other than Bruno. That was the only part of our action that wasn’t in the plan.”On Howe departing, Wilson cites the detailed succession planning which had taken place as leading to the rather seamless process of selecting Jaissle — though the far-from-ideal timing of the head coach changing cannot be overlooked.Eddie Howe left Newcastle early in pre-season (Owen Humphreys/Getty Images)Interestingly, Wilson described the summer to his scouting team as “almost like running two transfer windows”, given that finding Howe’s replacement was “dealt with in complete secrecy for two weeks” alongside sourcing players.“No, it never felt chaotic inside at all,” Wilson said. “Big respect to Eddie for the job he did for us over a long period of time. Bringing that trophy here means we would all describe him as a club legend.“But (Howe leaving) didn’t feel chaotic and painful. Eddie would tell you, since I came to the club, I’ve been planning in the background for a managerial change. Part of our responsibility as leaders of the club is to be prepared. Eddie is an exceptionally talented coach and, at some point, that meant he was probably going to do something else and we had to be prepared for that.“Clearly the timing was not (what) we had planned for. But we had a plan in place, which is why we could execute it as quickly as we did.”Hopkinson has spoken frequently about his own ‘Vision 2030’ ambition for Newcastle. But football is Wilson’s domain and this was his first summer as sporting director. He feels he has installed a discernible identity and reset the transfer strategy.“I had a clear idea, identity-wise, what I wanted Newcastle to look like, which was absolutely shared (by) ownership,” said Wilson. “The key for us was getting to the end of the window really feeling that identity.“That doesn’t mean it’s perfect, it doesn’t mean we’re over the moon with it, but we’re happy where we’ve got to, structurally and identity-wise in the squad, the coach. We’re not patting ourselves on the back, but we have to move forwards bravely and strongly. There’s still lots of work to be done to get the whole club where we want to get it to.”Prospective January business — and the ongoing ‘trading model’Player sales are not necessary in January, Newcastle insist, though they may be required to facilitate incomings should Jaissle desire mid-season signings.“What we’ve done is built a squad for the season,” said Wilson. “That doesn’t mean we might not make further alterations to it in January.”Late in the summer, Newcastle debated the merits of “keeping our powder dry” until January or bringing in another attacking addition.