For many supporters in Newcastle it has been the season of your life.
Finally the 70-year-old waiting for silverware is over after they have defeated Liverpool in Wembley to lift the Carabao Cup.
However, as always in football, De Goede Tijden, however, rarely last and may be confronted with an even larger 'cup final' this Sunday.
And the price can very well be Alexander Isak, in addition to Champions League football.
A few days ago it was all positivity when the self-confident Toon army was on his way to Arsenal who dreamed of a fourth consecutive victory over the Gunners and climb to the second.
But the Declan Rice strike not only ruined their hope for a highest Premier League finish since 1997, it let them go shootout for a top five finish in a tense last day in a match that can also be crucial for the future of Isak in the long term.
Firstly, Newcastle will be desperate to have the Swedish superstar this weekend against Everton in Zwart -Wit.
Although their top scorer of 27 goals was out of the form for a few weeks, he was very missed in the Emirates.
And if there is something, his reported appreciation of £ 150 million actually increased, even though he was not even on the field due to a “small lies problem”.
Isak, an arrival of £ 63 million from Real Sociedad in 2022, missed four top matches this season, where the Magpies only collect one point without him and not even score in open play.
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Eddie Howe knows more than anyone else how essential the 25-year-old is for his team and needs him more than ever against the Toffees at St. James'.
Although his absence also emphasized how much he cannot afford to lose Isak – regardless of the money that is offered.
He hit Arsenal, who brutally jokes many oppositions, because they are his 'parent club', interested in the hotshot for years.
They are constantly linked to a movement for him, but now they are also confronted with competition from Premier League title winners Liverpool.
Howe recently revealed his sense of frustration that star men like Isak, Captain Bruno Guimaraes and winger Anthony Gordon are constantly connected to movements gone.
But until Newcastle plays the Champions League season after season and is able to compete financially with the top cannons now their recent PSR restrictions that stop them, then the speculation and interest will not disappear.
And even how long is in the tooth to put his flag in the ground and to explain that Isak will still be 100 percent in the northeast of the next term.
Although he was also clear that everyone in the club knows that the only way to reach the top has been held on to the striker and their other crown jewels, regardless of what money is offered.
Howe said: “I never make those guarantees about a player and it is not to do with the future of Alex, but I would be foolish to sit here and do something like that. We want to keep our strongest players, I said I have been here since I have been here and sat on this chair.
“We have to try to keep our best players and get more good players to make us even stronger, because the ambition of the club and everyone connected to the club is successful in the long term and that is the only way to get that.”
Although the above words have been played, spun and even claimed that they are opening the door for a large exit, one of their top priorities to re -open conversations about a contract extension for the more targeted one.
Newcastle is not under pressure to sell and has it retained a package worth around £ 130,000 a week until 2028.
But they expect more noise from rival clubs to try to derive their talisman and also brace themselves for similar tactics with regard to guimaraes and Gordon.
Provisional contract discussions took place in the fall, but both camps were happy to push back to the end of the season.
The goals of Isak, including the Wembley winner, have certainly staged his negotiation forces.
Now that Newcastle, even with the Carabao Cup as a potential leverage, desperately needs their own reinforced chips – and the qualification of the Champions League would certainly do it.
It is a stage on which all the big striking people want to play and Isak already has a taste of it on Tyneside.
After he had stayed around despite the fact that he completely missed Europe last season, the idea that another campaign is unable to perform on the largest stage is not greeted heartily.
That is why to prevent months of speculation, rumors, whispering and even potential unrest from the player himself who could bring a potential defeat against the blues, it is vital that Newcastle takes matters into its own hands on Sunday.
A second Champions League qualification in three years and a piece of silverware to start are the perfect ingredients for both camps to have an extensive contract throw away.
A victory for Toon would be a victory for anyone associated with the mags and the attacker, while it would also yield a crushing blow to Arsenal and Liverpool.
However, if the men of David Moyes come and spoil the P -James party, then a completely different summer transfer window could be for Howe and his recruitment plans.
But instead of finishing that worrying note, the man himself has previously stated that he believes that he can reach his football ambitions in Newcastle.
Isak stated: “That's why I came here.”