Attacker Joao Pedro rejected a move to Newcastle United in favour of joining Premier League rivals on a seven-year deal. This was a big blow to Eddie Howe’s transfer window.
The Brazilian was one of the Magpies’ top targets and had already begun work to secure his signature this summer. After talks, the initial feeling was that Joao Pedro wanted to join Newcastle United, but the reality was that this was far from the case.
Joao Pedro always wanted Chelsea and reportedly made that clear to Newcastle during talks. Still, Eddie Howe’s recruitment team believed they could tempt him with a move to Tyneside.
It has since been confirmed that Joao Pedro has signed for Chelsea on a seven-year deal, ending any hope of him being a Newcastle player next season. Howe must now move on to his other targets to make the improvements to Newcastle’s first-team squad he is so desperate to do.
Joao Pedro rejected Newcastle over his World Cup chances, which makes the decision more surprising as he would have played alongside two Brazilian internationals in the North East.
While Joao Pedro rejected Newcastle, it did not stop the 23-year-old from naming a former Toon star as the best player he has ever played with.
Joao Pedro is unveiled as a Chelsea player after joining the club from Brighton.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Former Newcastle United man James Milner receives high praise from Joao Pedro
James Milner spent the early years of his career at Newcastle, but made a name for himself at the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool, where he forged a trophy-laden career which included Premier League titles and Champions League wins.
Turning 40 in January, Milner is still going strong in the Premier League, having recently signed a one-year contract extension with Brighton. He will be widely recognised as one of the best midfielders in Premier League history, and his influence has clearly rubbed off on some of the younger players.
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In an interview for a TikTok with Chelsea, Joao Pedro was asked who the best player he ever played with was. He simply responded: “Milner”.
After his move to Chelsea, Joao Pedro will now be playing against the Premier League legend and is likely to receive an unfriendly welcome from the fans at St James’ Park when Chelsea come to town next season.
James Milner could have signed for Newcastle United in 2022
In the early days of the takeover, it was clear that Howe was eager to improve Newcastle’s starting XI which had dipped in quality under Steve Bruce.
Several additions were made to the starting XI in the January 2022 window, with the likes of Dan Burn and Kieran Trippier brought to the club to help them push higher up the Premier League table.
It was a similar case during the summer transfer window in that same year, Nick Pope, Sven Botman and Alexander Isak all joined to give the Magpies a fighting chance of competing higher up the Premier League table.
However, it was revealed at the time that Newcastle were also interested in signing Milner. Howe was clearly eager to add more experience to his midfield to complement a young Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton, who had only moved into the position permanently a few months prior.
In the end, Milner rejected Newcastle for a new deal at Liverpool, putting that transfer saga to bed once and for all.