After World Cup goals are last year's signings finally set to deliver for Newcastle?

Half of Premier League transfers fail.

This was the stark conclusion reached by Dr Ian Graham, Liverpool's former director of research.

But Newcastle United appeared to buck the trend.

Alexander Isak, Bruno Guimaraes, Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn were just some of the signings who went on to be huge successes at St James' Park.

It felt like the club had cracked the code. Until last summer, that is.

Aside from defender Malick Thiaw, Newcastle did not see enough of an immediate return from a £100m-plus net spend.

And as much as Newcastle require reinforcements right now - they are currently finalising a move for Hoffenheim winger Bazoumana Toure - they also need a lot more from those players who arrived last summer.

"I believe in all those signings," head coach Eddie Howe said in one of his final news conferences last season. "I think they will come good."

The coming months will tell us a lot more in that regard, but Anthony Elanga and Yoane Wissa offered some positive signs in their performances at the World Cup.

The pair certainly looked a little more like the players who first grabbed Newcastle's attention at Nottingham Forest and Brentford respectively.

They even ended up scoring as many goals (five) combined at the tournament as they did during their first campaign at Newcastle.

It's always dangerous to read too much into performances at a World Cup, but can Elanga and Wissa take this renewed confidence back to Tyneside?

Elanga had nothing to lose.

Sweden were 4-0 down against the Netherlands when the substitute entered the fray in his side's second group game at the World Cup.

The 24-year-old needed just four minutes to score after racing through and finishing off a blistering counter-attack.

Elanga took that momentum into his next game against Japan as a starter, cutting inside and letting fly with a curling effort to draw Sweden level.

Sweden would ultimately bow out in the last 32 following a 3-0 defeat against France, but Elanga again emerged with some credit, with the tournament offering a glimpse of what the rapid forward can provide.

"He's the kind of player that can change a game," former Newcastle and Sweden team-mate Emil Krafth said.

Elanga showed that at Nottingham Forest, but clearly found it a challenge adapting to a new detailed system at Newcastle, even after a full pre-season.

There were flashes of the player he can be.

There was a double in the Nou Camp in the Champions League knockout stages.

He caused Liverpool and Barcelona's defences real problems with his pace in games at St James' Park, only for a team-mate to fail to put away his crosses.

It did not consistently come together, though, not least when Newcastle faced low blocks, and there were some bruising moments following his £55m move.

But the Swede is not about to give up.

"He's not got the mental capacity to allow himself to fail," a source close to Elanga said.

Elanga does not have to look too far into the past for inspiration.

Although Anthony Gordon had prior experience of playing in the Premier League, it also took the winger time to adapt at Newcastle after joining the club from Everton in 2023.

Such was Gordon's intense desire to impress, he constantly asked those around him in the dressing room about what he needed to improve.

Gordon became more responsible with the ball, made better decisions in the final third and started to flourish following a confidence-boosting tournament with England Under-21s at their Euros.

Krafth can see parallels with Elanga.

"I think the second season for Anthony is going to be different," he said.

"He knows what he's going to come into. He's a bit more prepared and knows what the manager wants from him."

Elanga at least had a idea of what was to come.

Wissa, by contrast, had the worst possible preparation for his first campaign at Newcastle after pushing to leave Brentford and complete a £55m move of his own.

He had a disrupted pre-season and then went on to suffer a knee injury while on international duty with DR Congo.

Wissa rushed back in an effort to help his side and repay the faith Howe had shown in him.

He scored three goals in his first six starts for the club, but that was as good as it got.

The 29-year-old struggled for rhythm, was prone to missing big chances, and a lack of training time ultimately caught up with him during a relentless fixture schedule.

However, several months after his arrival, Howe felt he saw the "best of him" in training in April.

It felt like Wissa was adapting after building up his fitness.

"When you come to a new club, you don't know what to expect," Krafth said. "Especially Newcastle with the way we trained and the way we played.

"I don't think any player is ready for that intensity."

There was a belief behind the scenes that Wissa was among those new signings to benefit from an extended period of work in a larger group in the final weeks of the campaign as the schedule eased.

Wissa certainly looked sharper and leaner going into the World Cup, and he relished the stage.

It was Wissa who scored DR Congo's first ever World Cup goal, a fine header, in a 1-1 draw against Portugal.

Although Wissa missed a couple of chances against Uzbekistan, he went on to bag a double during a man of the match display as his country reached the knockout stages of the World Cup for the first time ever with a 3-1 victory.

The striker struck the post against England in the last 32, spurning a huge opportunity to make it 2-0 in a game his side ultimately lost.

But this was still a tournament to remember.

"I didn't show my best face at Newcastle," he admitted during the World Cup. "But I knew that my time would come."

Newcastle will cautiously hope it is a sign of what is to come. Not only for Wissa but Elanga, too.