OPINION
Being a Newcastle United fan during the transfer window must be like being a kid sat at their bedroom window while you watch all of the other 19 kids on your street play with their brand new toys.
The Magpies are known to be working off a stringent transfer budget, as has been the case for some years, under Mike Ashley, and while they might have secured two signings already this summer, one was turning a loan deal permanent and the other was a free transfer.
While the Toon Army want to see their side bring in the best possible captures, manager Rafael Benitez knows that to have any sort of real money to spend, he will have to sell up first, and despite a vast amount of deadwood in the squad, there has been no sales as of yet.
That could change sooner rather than later though, with the Telegraph claiming that a fee of £20million has been agreed with Fulham for Aleksandar Mitrovic, the Serbian striker cast out from the first team under Benitez but flourishing with the Cottagers in the Championship.
That multi-million windfall will end up being a massive boost for the club as and when it arrives in their bank account, but with the report stating that a deal could take up until the end of the month to be completed, the Toon Army will be left sweating over their own transfer activity.
The window is set to slam shut on August 9 this summer, and with Newcastle in desperate need of those funds from Mitrovic to get active in the market, the longer they wait to complete the sale, the less time they have to splash what cash they make.
Newcastle fans have learned to be patient, but a month without any serious spending will have them going stir crazy – and Benitez will hope to find funds from elsewhere to ensure he is not missing out on his top targets.