THEY might have spent almost £50m on recruiting five players this summer, but Steve McClaren claims Newcastle United’s most important signing did not cost anything in terms of a transfer fee.

At the end of last month, it looked like Magpies skipper Fabricio Coloccini had played his final game for the club as he prepared to rejoin his former manager, Alan Pardew, at Crystal Palace.

McClaren joined chief scout Graham Carr and managing director Lee Charnley to discuss potential replacements, only to quickly conclude that none were a match for Coloccini.

Some frantic negotiating followed, resulting in the 33-year-old rejecting Palace’s approach and signing a one-year contract extension that ties him to St James’ Park until 2017, with an option for a further 12 months.

On Saturday, the centre-half produced a superb defensive display to help Newcastle secure a creditable goalless draw at Manchester United, and for all that there has been talk of a need for a further defensive addition before the transfer window closes, McClaren feels the Magpies have already completed their most significant summer deal.

“There’s been a lot of talk about signings this summer, but for me, that (Coloccini) was the best one,” said the Newcastle head coach. “We looked around at various defenders when his position was in doubt, but we quickly decided that none of them matched up. I quickly said, ‘Look, we need to get him back on board’ and the club has done that.

“There was a point in the summer where we thought he might well be going, most definitely. There were offers on the table, but the club has done great to address that situation and keep him.

“We said, ‘Sort him out, and get him back on board’. They’ve done that, and deep down, I think he always wanted to finish his career at Newcastle. I’m pleased he performed he did like he did (on Saturday).”

McClaren was heavily involved in the discussions to keep Coloccini on Tyneside, and the early days of the former England manager’s reign were crucial in terms of drawing a line under last season’s struggles and laying the foundations for a new regime.

Financial issues will also have been critical, with Newcastle understood to have extended the terms of Coloccini’s previous deal, which makes him the club’s highest-paid player at around £70,000-a-week.

However, the Argentinian’s long-term relationship with the Magpies was also important, with the last seven years having seen him experience a wide range of emotions while wearing the black-and-white shirt.

“I think his relationship with the club and the years he’d already had here were important,” said McClaren. “He’s got a real affinity with the club, and I think he just wanted to finish his career here. Why not?

“We’ve come in, and he’s probably had a little look at how we’ve been operating in the first three or four weeks too. He’s obviously been happy with what he’s seen, but it was also about the club rewarding him, and that’s what they’ve done.”

Newcastle will continue to monitor two or three defensive targets during the final week of the transfer window, but McClaren maintains there is no pressing requirement to make another signing unless an attractive deal presents itself.

Florian Thauvin became the latest signing to make his debut as Newcastle’s resilient rearguard action secured a point at Old Trafford, but it was another summer addition that most caught the eye.

Aleksandar Mitrovic had hit the headlines for picking up two rapid-fire yellow cards during his opening two substitute appearances, but having been preferred to Papiss Cisse at the weekend, the Serbian striker delivered a mature display that combined aggression and physicality with restraint when required.

He almost claimed a winner with a ferocious first-half header that hit the crossbar, and McClaren expects him to trouble plenty of top-flight defenders during the remainder of the campaign.

“He was a real positive for us,” he said. “He did what we wanted him to do, and that’s why he played. We weren’t keeping the ball, and we wanted him to be a physical presence.

“You need to have an outlet at Old Trafford, and he certainly put himself about. He won’t give any centre-half in this league an easy game or a quiet afternoon.

“I thought he could have been better in certain respects and he gave the ball away too many times in the first 20 minutes. But he will improve, like all the players will.”