While the World Cup has somewhat eclipsed the transfer window, planning for the new season is still being orchestrated.
This was captured by a big breakthrough for Manchester United, who continued their rebuild by all-but signing Southampton full-back Luke Shaw and purchasing Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera.
Other rumours and transfers are happening at all levels, as teams prepare for the new season. So what exactly are Newcastle United doing?
Well, so far, there has been some permanent signings, with Spanish striker Ayoze Perez and Sunderland midfielder Jack Colback moving to Tyneside, while Shola Ameobi, Luuk de Jong and Loic Remy are among those to have already left.
Its clear Newcastle need strikers, not to mention a winger and in most likelihood, a new full-back given Mathieu Debuchy is unlikely to stay on Tyneside. After all, Debuchy has complained he feels his game his inhibited by Pardew's negative tactics and says he misses playing the Champions League. If he stays, its nothing short of astonishing.
All the talk, however, has been of outs. As well the departed trio up-front, there's been several links for the exit door for Tim Krul, Debuchy, Steven Taylor, Davide Santon, Hatem Ben Arfa, Sylvain Marveuax and Gabriel Obertan, as well as for youngsters James Tavernier and Mehdi Abeid, despite them impressing while on loan last season.
Its questionable if Alan Pardew knows what he's doing on letting such a big change in numbers happen so quickly. Not all of these players are capable but squad depth would be nice, particularly given it regularly seems to be an alien concept to Newcastle managers. Most of these players have also been ruined by his poor management, which has turned Ben Arfa and Marveuax from promising prospects to fat men who can't even get a game behind wingers that aren't wingers.
Also, trying to change too quickly can have repercussions. A very quickfire turnaround in players can lead to an unsettled difference in trying to adapt a new team, and it means that it can take far too long to have the formula figured out.
Saying that, much work is needed on the playing squad even with these players staying. But so far, the indication has been that it will be a summer of cheapskate signings. The club are refusing to pay the valuation of Montpellier winger Remy Cabella - who is currently with Debuchy on World Cup duty - and is equally unwilling to meet the valuation of highly rated German striker Pierre Michel Lassoga.
Somebody has to tell Mike Ashley that assuming the football world can function on cheap signings is no longer possible. It was very impressive when in 2011 we constructed a fanttastic CM of Yohan Cabaye and Cheick Tiote for less than £8M. By contrast, of course, Norwich spent £8M on Ricky van Wolfswinkel, who netted one goal in the 2013-14 season.
But that was then. Nowadays, with Premier League teams earning a minimum of £60M just for taking part, the economics are different. On top that, the team earned a further £20M for finishing in the top half, and a further £15M in player transfer profit thanks to the sale of Cabaye to PSG in January.
With the club having made £95M in total from these ventures even before matchday, merchandise and corporate revenue is thrown into the pile, it brings to mind that the Newcastle accountants could do a passable Scrooge McDuck impersonation on this cash. But other clubs also see this cash and think that if Newcastle have this much, they can afford to splash it.
Truthfully, we also can. But this reluctance to do so is a huge problem, because it fuels the lack of investment in the playing squad that has already alienated key squad members, and could allow us to drift further.
2013-14 was already an irritating year for Newcastle fans, with the tentative progress of the first half of the campaign thrown away in a depressing end of season run-in that would have seen Alan Pardew fired if it wasn't for his stupidly long contract.
In 2012-13 and 2013-14, Newcastle have lost 38 Premier League games in all, split evenly between each one. This depressing statistic includes a number of 3 goals or more pastings, and cannot be allowed to continue, but it feels like it is by a boardroom underestimating how shaky the ground beneath their feet is.
Its also now 65 years since Newcastle won a major trophy (the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, now known as the UEFA Europa League), and the board have indicated they don't care for glory. They just care for a healthy balance sheet, and apparently going for glory would ruin that, even though sport is mainly about the glory rather than the middling dullness of mid-table campaigns. Its amazing some of our more top-end players haven't moved already considering this restraint on even attempting success exists.
Any lack of investment this summer - and from the looks of it, he is refusing to spend on a loss again - will be a huge problem, as it will leave us ill-equipped for the new season and facing a depressing campaign.
Ashley also has to be told more people will want to sponsor his sporting product if its successful, and hopefully we could get a more credible face than Wonga.com, who were this week fined for appalling practices in their loan-sharking operation. But this willful sabotage hidden under cover of World Cup darkness is causing a huge problem, and with no end in sight, this messy summer could once again lead to a rough campaign.
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