Deadline day didn't throw up too many surprises for Newcastle United. Matias Fernandez-Pardo was announced, as expected, and the only real departure of any note was Sean Neave being sent out on loan to Championship side Wolves.
Neave was always expected to leave in that manner at some point, especially under the guise of the new department set out to improve how the club handle its own academy talent and loan deals.
But there has already been some questions marks within the fanbase as to whether Neave has been sent to the right club and there has been suggestion that the new look loans structure has failed in its very first task.
Why Wolves feels wrong
Don't get me wrong, the fact that a club like Wolves were even interested in bringing Neave in on loan says a lot about how highly regarded he is and the talent he can bring, even to a squad of that calibre.
But, with just 16 professional minutes under his belt thus far, sending him to a club who will be challenging right at the top of the Championship does feel as though it might be a step too high too early.
The whole idea behind a loan deal is to instill a belief, confidence and experience in a young talent that they can transfer their record from the youth systems into a senior outfit. But to do that they must be sent somewhere that the opportunities will be free flowing and regular, uninterrupted game time is plausible.
I'm just not sure that is quite the case at Wolves.
Looking at Cesar Peixoto's squad, you have two very senior, established Championship and Premier League striker options in Raul Jimenez and Adam Armstrong who will be ahead of him in the pecking order almost by default.
There is also Rafiki Said who has been brought in from Standard Liege, who albeit is currently injured, but has the pedigree to play as a centre forward.
Let's play devil's advocate and suggest that Neave will be used on the right wing at Wolves, where he can also play. Well, Rodrigo Gomes is the current starter, who is simply at a level that will be very, very difficult to displace for a 19-year-old in his first proper season of senior football.
Where could have been better for Neave
If we take the case of Rory Finneran, a player who has already made his senior international debut by the way, we see a player who has been sent out to League 1 Notts County, yet has already began to make his name and endear himself to the fanbase.
Whilst I'm not saying Neave should have been sent to League 1 necessarily, although I do think a top end move in that division would have made sense, that sort of loan move simply makes a great deal more sense than a side just relegated from the Premier League and fighting for a title with established senior names.
If I had to choose myself, I'd have placed Neave in a midtable or top end of the bottom half Championship club. Somewhere there is a clear pathway to minutes, with some competition but not enough to swamp him him and leave him with the possibility of being forgotten - which I do think is plausible.
What if it does work?
Enough of the possible negatives, though. Because like I said earlier, there is undoubted positives in the fact that Wolves happily took him on.
That alone would suggest that, if he works hard and applies himself, there will at least be some opportunity to shine.
Let's just work on the basis that, when the season ends next summer, Neave has managed to make this a very fruitful loan, scoring a good few goals and making his mark on the division.
At that point Newcastle United are getting back a young player with a year of very good experience under his belt who will either be worth a lot more than he is at present, or will be ready to play a much more worthy part in Matthias Jaissle's senior squad and actually compete for minutes.
In fact, just a bit of a side thought, maybe the idea is for Neave to go to Wolves and be their back up right winger, rotating with the aforementioned Gomes for a full season, before coming back to Tyneside and replacing the ageing Jacob Murphy as a squad option there? Maybe a bit farfetched but it feels possible.
Why it has to work
Anyway, to get back on track. The loan for Neave does feel as if it may be a bit Naive of the club, which is coincidentally exactly what the updated department set out to prevent.
And I actually believe there is a lot riding on this going at least somewhat well, mainly because if it doesn't, the club's new focus on developing our own academy talent has already shown signs of failing and wasted another year in the career of one of the Magpies brightest young players.
From Neave's point of view, this feels as though a year which could make or break at least the early part of his senior career.
It is a big task given all the circumstances I previously mentioned, but one which will really show a lot about his character, ability and just how likely his Newcastle United career is to continue as a breakout talent.
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