Despite the current success under the PIF regime, prior to that Newcastle United had not always been astute operators with regard to transfer dealings, having notably moved on a handful of key figures somewhat prematurely.
Current Premier League stars Ivan Toney and Aleksandr Mitrovic are just two of those whom the Magpies have let slip from their grasp in the recent past, with the pair having particularly shone so far this season, scoring 18 and 11 top-flight goals, respectively, for Brentford and Fulham.
One other former St James' Park asset who is enduring a far more difficult campaign in the top tier, however, is Southampton's Adam Armstrong, with the Tynesiders having seemingly been vindicated in their decision to sell the 5 foot 8 marksman back in 2018.
How is Adam Armstrong getting on now?
The former Newcastle academy ace had been a highly-rated figure at the club during his time in the northeast, with the local lad having even been the subject of praise from then-England skipper Wayne Rooney back in 2015, after shining for the Three Lions at youth level.
The diminutive marksman had been handed a chance to impress during that 2014/15 campaign for the Magpies after making 15 appearances in all competitions, albeit with the young striker failing to find the back of the net in any of those outings.
That limited involvement ultimately saw Armstrong go on to join Coventry City for the following campaign, with the young Geordie making his mark after netting 20 League One goals, albeit while scoring just six times in the 2016/17 season for Barnsley in the Championship.
Another loan to second-tier side Bolton Wanderers failed to prove fruitful as the former England U21 international scored just once in the league in the first half of 2017/18, before again flourishing in League One at Blackburn Rovers, after netting nine league goals in the remainder of the campaign.
Having failed to truly show his worth above the third tier, the Tynesiders made the decision to allow Armstrong to depart that summer, with the emerging talent moving to Ewood Park on an initial £1.75m deal, after making just 21 appearances back at St James' Park – all of which ended without a goal to his name.
Toon legend Malcolm MacDonald suggested in 2021 that it had been a "crazy" decision to let the centre-forward leave the club, while lauding the striker with notable praise: “Adam is an out-and-out goalscorer who reminds me of Tony Cottee — on the small side but very quick, very agile, always facing the goal and ice-cool in one-on-one situations."
Armstrong initially lived up to MacDonald's billing after scoring 49 Championship goals across his first three full seasons with Rovers, with that subsequently earning him a £15m move to St Mary's in the summer of 2021.
Since then, however, Newcastle's decision to sell has looked far wiser as the £55k-per-week flop has been unable to deliver the goods back in the Premier League, scoring just three goals in the competition since the start of last term.
The current campaign, in particular, has proven rather disappointing for the 26-year-old as he has scored just once in the top-flight for the relegation-threatened outfit, with that a smaller tally than what ex-Newcastle dud Chris Wood has achieved this term, the New Zealand international netting three times for both the Magpies and new club, Nottingham Forest.
That is an indication of the extent of Armstrong's struggles for the Saints, with the St James' Park faithful likely to be no longer pining for their former youth asset with Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson now fit and firing.