Newcastle United are suddenly forced to look at alternatives after officially missing out on Joao Pedro.
While some Newcastle fans are not concerned about the Pedro situation, failing to sign him from Brighton is certainly a blow. He was a top target for Eddie Howe, yet Pedro has joined Chelsea instead.
Now they are looking elsewhere, as Newcastle United go in search of a transfer breakthrough that still feels a long way away for supporters.
However, there is plenty of work going on behind the scenes to improve the Newcastle United squad ahead of the 2025/26 season.
Eddie Howe speaks to his players during Newcastle United's FA Cup third round tie against Bromley.
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Newcastle United working on secret signings, one is a Joao Pedro alternative
Toon fans have witnessed plenty of targets come and go this summer, with Pedro the latest. Fortunately, there are still key targets that are yet to be made public.
That is according to the i Paper, who claim that Newcastle United are trying to complete two mystery transfers behind the scenes. They are ‘working on deals’ for a centre-back and an attacker, as alternatives to Marc Guehi and Pedro.
Crucially, neither target’s name has entered the public domain. That will delight Toon officials, who are eager to keep their business under wraps after seeing various deals in the past become a saga in the media.
That was the case last summer when Paul Mitchell failed to sign Guehi from Crystal Palace.
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Newcastle United have a history of making mystery signings
Since the change of ownership at St James’ Park, there have been a few instances of Newcastle United making signings out of the blue. By the time a deal has broken in the media, it has already been near completion.
That is what happened with Alexander Isak in 2022. Newcastle initially thought Isak was too expensive, having been linked earlier in the summer. That resulted in the Magpies pivoting towards Joao Pedro of all players.
Then Newcastle suddenly got a whiff that an Isak deal was possible for a fee they would be willing to pay. Toon officials pivoted back to the Swede, as Isak became Newcastle’s most expensive signing ever at £63million.
That was all done in private. By the time the story broke, the deal was pretty much done.
It was a similar story when Newcastle signed Sandro Tonali in 2023. Rumoured interest in Nicolo Barella was used as a smokescreen, allowing the Magpies to secretly secure the services of another player from Milan.
Most recently, Newcastle buying Will Osula in August 2024 came relatively out of the blue. He was purchased as a project player, with Osula going down as Paul Mitchell’s biggest bit of business as sporting director.
Mitchell has now left the club, with Andy Howe and Steve Nickson overseeing Newcastle United’s recruitment. They are the ones working on these mystery deals.