Newcastle training ground photo taken after major breakthrough drops hint on 'exciting journey'

It wasn't anywhere near 1,000 words but the official Newcastle United photograph that accompanied the Anthony Gordon new contract press release said a lot.

In it, we see the beaming Newcastle sporting director Paul Mitchell smiling as the autumnal sunshine bounces off the pristine cladding at the club's training ground with a delighted Gordon in the middle and head coach Eddie Howe, also sporting a satisfied smile, on the other side. It's the first time that Howe and Mitchell have posed publicly in a picture together and speaks volumes for where Newcastle are right now.

True, Mitchell and Howe were pictured together from a distance back in July looking quite relaxed at the club's pre-season training camp in Germany. But that was before a turbulent transfer window, before the Marc Guehi affair and before Mitchell's explosive interview on recruitment and scouting shortly after the summer trading period ended.

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When Howe spoke about not getting "regular updates" and Mitchell said a scouting network partially led by Howe's nephew Andy wasn't "fit for purpose", it was hardly screaming solidarity. As Newcastle struggled to get a marquee signing over the line in the summer you began to worry about how the pair would work together.

A big-name signing, unveiled with Howe and Mitchell in a picture, would have assured fans. But the picture of Howe, Mitchell and Gordon should be deemed just as good.

In securing the 23-year-old on a long-term deal it sends out a positive message around the training ground and to the fanbase. If the picture of the pair posing with their star man was supposed to alert us to the fact that Howe and Mitchell have worked in unison to make it happen, well, it's worked.

And the hope is it can be the start of something really special at Newcastle now. Given Gordon has a close understanding with Alexander Isak you'd want to believe that he can gently persuade the striker to join him on what Mitchell described as "the journey" at St James' Park.

England players like Guehi for example will also see that Gordon is committed to what is an exciting project on Tyneside. Don't underestimate what a talent Gordon genuinely is either.

Many observers outside of Newcastle, not least in the Everton supporter base, deemed £45million an absolute steal. But Gordon looks like a player more than double that price now.

Only on Monday night, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher shuffled around player names on a huge electronic floor board on Monday Night Football as he speculated what Thomas Tuchel's new England team would look like, and he made it clear Gordon had to be in, with former Arsenal and Juventus star Aaron Ramsey nodding along in agreement.

Gordon is key for Newcastle so were Mitchell's words yesterday, within them he paid Howe the biggest compliment he has so far. The former Monaco chief said: "We are all delighted that he is committed to the journey we’re on at Newcastle United. “Our staff have done a tremendous job in nurturing his talent and evolving his game, and Anthony deserves so much credit for his commitment to pushing himself to be better and to achieve every day."

On the subject of Tuchel's England appointment, you get the feeling there is more clarity in the air around the training ground now. Howe always assured us that he wasn't ready for the England role because he had unfinished business at St James' Park.

The Gordon deal suggests that we might be at the start of that chapter now. A message that was triggered at teatime to fans as they scrolled their phones on Metros and buses home from work or as they ordered their first pint in Tyneside's pubs and clubs, showed more than just your average contract renewal.