Eddie Howe knows that his Newcastle United squad will need additions ahead of their return to the Premier League.
Fortunately for Newcastle, Eddie Howe doesn’t seem at risk of losing any of his star players this summer.
Liverpool would love to sign Alexander Isak this summer but by most accounts, the Sweden international won’t be leaving St James’ Park.
And despite Arsenal’s interest in Anthony Gordon, there’s no reason for Newcastle to do a deal there either.
Newcastle are in a strong financial position this summer and Howe will be expecting big upgrades to his squad, perhaps starting with Brighton & Hove Albion’s Joao Pedro.
Joao Pedro has already ‘agreed terms’ to join Newcastle
TBR Football recently reported that Newcastle had held talks with Pedro, who expressed that he would be willing to play on the right wing for Howe.
But journalist Sascha Tavolieri has now taken things one step further by claiming that Newcastle have ‘already agreed terms’ with Pedro.
Joao Pedro during a Premier League match for Brighton.
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
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Tavolieri was mentioning Newcastle’s position on Pedro owing to the fact that Chelsea are now pushing to sign the Brazilian themselves.
And even if Newcastle have made progress on the player side of things, Chelsea might still be poised to steal the march on their Premier League rivals.
Tavolieri wrote: “Chelsea FC working hard to make up for lost ground in the Joao Pedro case… Newcastle already agreed terms with the Brazilian & made 2 bids to #BHAFC
“As revealed on 26th May, Blues made Pedro a priority target in front & are preparing a new assault to convince Brighton.”
Newcastle bid £50m for Pedro in recent days, but the club’s offer was swiftly rejected by Brighton.
Chelsea’s Joao Pedro interest might be a blessing in disguise for Newcastle
As mentioned, Pedro would be willing to join Newcastle this summer and play in a right wing role, recognising that Isak is the club’s starting central striker.
But judging by Pedro’s lack of experience as a right winger, Howe might be making a mistake.
Position Games Goals Assists
Striker 119 34 18
Left winger 40 14 0
Attacking midfield 27 11 1
Right winger 5 0 0
Joao Pedro’s goal and assist rate in each position across his career (source: Transfermarkt)
Pedro is obviously a ‘special’ talent, as labelled by Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler in an interview with Stadium Astro last November.
But Newcastle arguably already have the league’s best striker in Isak and Pedro isn’t going to play centrally too often.
Therefore, Newcastle risk signing a supremely talented striker who could end up being frustrated out wide.
And if Pedro could end up costing around £60m in the coming weeks, perhaps those funds would be much better directed towards a genuine right wing specialist.
Interestingly, Newcastle thought Bryan Mbeumo was too expensive this summer, even if he does now appear the perfect addition.