Newcastle were 'preparing for months' for Howe departure

Jaissle remains unbeaten in his first four games in charge of Newcastle in all competitions.

However, only three of the club's eight summer signings - Lukas Hornicek, Amar Dedic and Nico Gonzalez - started in the 2-2 draw against Bournemouth.

It felt like a reminder of the time it will take some of the new arrivals to bed in during what Jaissle has repeatedly called a "transition phase".

Newcastle have forecast a range of financial scenarios, depending on where the club finish this season, but Wilson maintained the German has not been set a specific target for the campaign.

Hopkinson, though, reiterated that Newcastle's ultimate ambition is to "consistently and credibly compete" for the top honours in the long run.

After entering into a Uefa settlement, following a breach of the European football governing body's financial rules, Hopkinson stressed Newcastle needed to be compliant with the game's regulations to do so.

The Magpies have set out to boost revenues by 50% between now and 2030 - mainly through sponsorship deals - but trading players will remain a key part of the club's strategy in order to reinvest.

"We want to have players here who are on a journey with us," Wilson said.

"Equally, if some of those players' journeys go at rapid speed, they might go somewhere else but, of course, that's normal. That's part of football."

Although Newcastle had prepared for the departures of Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali, to Barcelona and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, the club had never planned to lose talisman Bruno Guimaraes.

Newcastle also had to readjust during the window after top targets Victor Munoz and Johan Manzambi joined Liverpool and Aston Villa respectively.

However, aside from Guimaraes going to Arsenal, Wilson claimed "everything else that happened during the window was part of the plan".

"That does not mean that every single player [who signed] was the number one name on our list, but that is never the case in any transfer window," he said.

"Clearly we were disappointed a couple of times but, again, that's normal.

"No club goes into the window and reaches the end getting every target they set out to get. If they say they did, it is a lie."