Newcastle United chief Paul Mitchell has confessed that if the club hadn't offloaded Yankuba Minteh and Elliot Anderson, they could have faced Premier League points deductions.
The sale of the two young players, which drew mixed reactions from fans, saw Newcastle cash in £65million - a move that kept them clear of breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules.
Despite joining the team later in July, sporting director Mitchell admits feeling years older due to the summer's transfer market strain as Newcastle navigated through the maze of financial regulations, resulting in a modest purchase sum of £35m for newcomers William Osula and Odysseas Vlachodimos.
A failed attempt to sign Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace left a sense of anti-climax as the window shut.
Addressing supporters at the We Are United event at the STACK, Mitchell joked: "A lot of people won't believe I'm 21! I looked a lot better pre-July than I did post-September.
"But no, I think it is a complex landscape in the world of football. Definitely for myself I probably underestimated that coming in.
"I would like to say Darren, Eddie and the team in June, in what was a very difficult situation for the club, allowed us to have a platform where we don't have a points deduction."
The ex-Wigan Athletic defender added: "They made brave and tough decisions for the benefit of the club. That is one of our responsibilities as custodians of this club.
"They did a tremendous job. Unfortunately, we lost two very talented young men, but it has put us in a position where we can continue growing and continue getting success on the pitch.
"I can't echo enough what a great job was done in June to make sure we were as financially sound and performance sound as well."
