Newcastle's managing director Lee Charnley claims a deal was agreed with Hoffenheim for forward Joelinton as early as February.
The 22-year-old completed a move to St James' Park towards the end of July, joining the Magpies for a club-record fee of £36m after months of speculation regarding his future.
But a deal has seemingly been done for a number of months, with ChronicleLive carrying claims from Charnley that Newcastle had first reached an agreement with Hoffenheim five months prior - when former manager Rafa Benitez was in charge.
The Spaniard always had the final say on incoming transfers on Tyneside thanks to a contractual clause, and Charnley has now revealed that Joelinton had been watched, paperwork had been signed and a transfer was ready to be completed - only for Benitez to hesitate on signing off on the deal.