Newcastle are about to face the biggest test of their transfer 'golden rule'

The first real examination of Newcastle United’s summer transfer strategy arrives on Sunday.

“Two starting XIs” was how one insider described Newcastle’s squad at the start of the month, the dust having just about settled on the Alexander Isak saga.

Through a rocky summer it had been a deliberate policy to add depth to their squad and the feeling at Newcastle is that after spending the best part of £250m on new recruits, they now have two players of international quality in virtually every position. Now is the time to prove it.

On Thursday night there was a reminder that they could have gone down a different route. They were offered the chance to sign Barcelona’s match-winner Marcus Rashford, sounded out before the summer by intermediaries who wanted to find him a Champions League oppor