Last summer was a turbulent one for Newcastle, particularly without an executive structure in place.
However, boss Howe believed the club would be in a position to make smarter and quicker decisions – in and out – following the appointments of sporting director Ross Wilson and chief executive David Hopkinson earlier this season.
Gordon’s situation felt the first real test.
It was clear the forward was the likeliest of Newcastle’s key players to depart after he was left on the bench for each of the final four games of the season.
But would this turn into a situation which played out in public and dragged on like the Alexander Isak saga to Liverpool last summer? Not at all.
Progress on this particular transfer moved quickly in private.
Barcelona had a prior interest, but the club’s formal talks with Newcastle only emerged publicly on Wednesday morning. By the evening, an agreement had been reached.
It feels like a rare big-money transfer where all three parties end up being relatively satisfied.
Barcelona land a top target before the window even formally opens, while Newcastle secure their second biggest ever transfer fee, and Gordon gets a dream move.
Newcastle ideally do not want to lose key players like Gordon, but the club simply have to get better at becoming more strategic traders and recognising when is the right time to sell.
Given the impressive Champions League campaign Gordon enjoyed, it felt like the opportune moment.
Newcastle are still likely to do further trading this summer as part of an extensive rebuild, but this first key sale feels significant in enabling the club to reinvest.
Factoring in potential departures, they could end up being in the market for a goalkeeper, full-back, midfielder and multiple forwards this summer.
Newcastle did not quite get it right when they brought in a similar number of players last year after losing out on some ambitious top targets.
So this window has to be different if the club are to bounce back following a disappointing 12th-placed finish in the Premier League.
