As much as Newcastle United’s transfer window is still in the early stages, there’s a collective sense of frustration over how it has unfolded so far.
Hopes were high that we could land the likes of Liam Delap and Bryan Mbeumo early doors, but other clubs have since swooped in, with Delap joining Chelsea and Mbeumo expected to end up at Man Utd or Spurs after we were priced out of a move.
With the club reportedly not wanting to commit to drawn-out transfer sagas for key players, it’s going to be a difficult window for us to navigate without jostling with ‘big six’ rivals for our top targets.
We have to act quickly and decisively, and according to a new report, that approach is very much needed as Chelsea threaten to enter the bidding for one of Eddie Howe’s top summer targets…
According to TalkSPORT, there are internal fears within Newcastle that Chelsea could hijack our bid to sign Brighton forward Joao Pedro.
With Chelsea’s recent track record of acquiring both big money forwards and talent from Brighton, it’s perhaps no surprise to see why we’re wanting to move quickly and lock down the £60m-rated Brazilian whilst we can.
It was confirmed earlier this week that we had begun negotiations to bring the forward from the South coast to the North East, with talkSPORT also revealing that we’ve made a formal approach.
But if Chelsea were to return to the transfer market with money won from a deep Club World Cup run, then they will be a massive problem once again this summer, with their spending potential showing no signs of slowing down.
EXCLUSIVE: Newcastle fear Premier League rivals will hijack £70m Joao Pedro transfer | @alex_crook https://t.co/BwBEUmjnee
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) June 17, 2025
Last month, we found ourselves dueling with Chelsea, Manchester United and Everton over Liam Delap’s signature, before the Ipswich Town striker opted to join the growing number of attacks currently under contract at Stamford Bridge for £30m.
Pedro’s compatriot and Brighton teammate Igor Julio also previously hinted that a move to London was the 23-year-old’s preferred choice, although recent reports have indicated that Pedro is open to signing on Tyneside.
Despite the potential threat of Chelsea, the club can remain quietly confident that they’re the front runners for Joao Pedro, and it would take some serious money on Chelsea’s part to dissuade him from joining us.
Even with Alexander Isak up top, Joao Pedro has reportedly shown a keen interest in joining our attack and playing alongside the goalscoring Swede. With Liam Delap joining Nicolas Jackson at Chelsea up top, would he get the same opportunities under Enzo Maresca?
The Telegraph also report that Newcastle and Brighton aren’t far apart on their valuations of the player, adding to our belief that a deal may get done.
Minor factors like the opportunity to play alongside fellow Brazilians Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton, as well as knowing we’ve pursued him since his days at Watford must also hold some merit in the mind of Joao Pedro.
But there’s still many more weeks of the window left to unfold, and things could dramatically change between now and the start of the season. All eyes will be on Chelsea’s outgoings to see if they’re cutting down on forwards to make space for Pedro or another star like Hugo Ekitike, or if it’s our race to lose for a man we’ve been trying to sign since 2022.