Newcastle United's past three results across all competitions showcase the new dynamic capabilities of a club on the rise.
Indeed, with a goalless draw against AC Milan at the San Siro in the Champions League group phase (Newcastle's first game in the competition for two decades) preceding a scintillating 8-0 victory over Sheffield United in the Premier League and a hard-fought 1-0 win over Manchester City in the Carabao Cup, the Magpies are very much on the rise.
With Eddie Howe at the helm, the Tyneside club are targetting prosperity on the continental stage for a lasting period, and have been making the requisite transfer moves to secure such success, with the likes of Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes and Kieran Trippier all integral components of the resounding revival.
Replacing the deadwood has been an important part of this process, and while there remains residual elements of the former foundering ship, the likes of Matt Ritchie, Javier Manquillo and Emil Krafth's contracts are all set for expiry in the summer – with each player very much on the periphery.
This is not to say that they all deserve criticism, rather, Newcastle are moving in the right direction after the affluent PIF club takeover in 2021, and the squad is collectively burgeoning.
One player who departed before the cogs started churning that year and very much epitomised the ineptitude on the transfer front is Yoshinori Muto, who really did flatter to deceive after his exciting arrival from the German Bundesliga.
How much did Yoshinori Muto cost Newcastle?
With Rafa Benitez at the helm, Newcastle completed the signing of Muto from German club Mainz for around £9.5m, with the Toon seeking a replacement for rising star Aleksandar Mitrovic, who had been sold to Premier League rivals Fulham for £22m.
The Japanese forward had enjoyed some fruitful years with Mainz, scoring 23 goals and supplying 11 assists from 72 appearances, but failed miserably on Tyneside, quickly establishing himself as a non-entity.
Despite his hard-working approach and energy in the final third, he didn't perform to the standard expected, costing the club quite a pretty penny while he earned his wage at the St. James' Park side.
What was Yoshinori Muto's salary at Newcastle?
While Muto, who is now aged 31, was hampered somewhat by injuries over his two years at Newcastle, missing 14 matches between the 2018/19 and 2019/20 campaigns, he did not grasp the opportunities presented to him on the pitch.
Compounding the £9.5m price tag, Muto was provided with a £54k-per-week salary for his troubles, and while he was shipped out on loan to LaLiga outfit Eibar for the final of his three years with the Magpies, there is little to suggest that the Spanish side covered the entirety of his salary for that year.
With this in mind, Muto drained as much as £18m from Newcastle when combining his wages and the transfer fee paid for his signature, and having only scored twice from 28 outings while also failing to register a single assist, the dud actually cost around £9m per goal contribution, which really does illustrate the magnitude failure.
How well did Yoshinori perform at Newcastle?
The 5 foot 10 forward is one of many failed transfers littered across Mike Ashley's rule of the club, and it's no coincidence that the very atmosphere of Newcastle has been totally transformed since Howe and the new owners' arrivals.
In Germany, he was a solid, tenacious attacking outlet, scoring eight goals from 20 starts during the 2017/18 Bundesliga campaign – his last – and proving a menace with his ubiquity in offensive transition, as per Sofascore.
While Muto scored on his first Premier League start, in a 3-2 defeat against Manchester United, he would only earn a starting berth on five total occasions in the English top-flight that term, failing to add to his solitary strike.
Chastised for his "disappointing" spell with United by Sky Sports' Lyall Thomas, Muto's move to Eibar yielded similarly miserable results, scoring just three goals from 28 appearances.
While his departure indeed preceded Howe's arrival, the ace is a representation of just how wide of the mark the club was operating at before the lucrative revolution, with Isak – the club's record signing at £63m – positively immense and rising ever closer to the fore after an injury-hit maiden year – where he still scored ten times from just 17 starting appearances in the Premier League.
The Swede, who boasts four goals from seven games this term (including the winner against Pep Guardiola's City earlier this week), also ranks among the top 13% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for progressive passes, the top 10% for progressive carries and the top 6% for successful take-ons per 90, as per FBref, underscoring a multi-functional prowess that evaded Muto's skill set.
Too often the erstwhile Magpie failed to grasp his chances and effectively contribute toward the efforts, and after making just two league starts across his second season, failing to score, it was clear he was deemed more than expendable.
It really is a far cry from the potential he once held at his feet. In 2015, Manchester United were eyeing one Sadio Mane and Muto to bolster the attacking ranks, and while, ultimately, neither were signed, it proves that the quality was there for the striker to cement a prominent role in Newcastle's team.
It didn't happen, and while all is well at St. James' Park now, his time at the club serves as a reminder of just how far Newcastle has come in such a short time.
