Newcastle United have reportedly reached an agreement to sign one player who held talks to join Chelsea, with sporting director Ross Wilson to thank for the deal.
Eddie Howe endures worst week at Newcastle as pressure grows
It has been perhaps the worst week of Eddie Howe's reign at Newcastle.
Howe
In the space of four days, the Magpies were knocked out of the Champions League in the most deflating of circumstances and then capitulated against their biggest rivals in the most painful fashion imaginable.
That 7-2 humiliation at the Camp Nou last Wednesday still lingers.
Newcastle had been genuinely competitive for much of the first half — Anthony Elanga twice levelled for the visitors in a breathless opening period — only for a controversial Lamine Yamal penalty right before the break, awarded after a VAR review that Howe openly questioned, to swing the tie irreversibly in Barcelona's favour.
The second half was a chastening experience, Sandro Tonali limping off with a groin injury adding insult to a very deep wound.
Newcastle United's Anthony Gordon applauds fans after the match Related
[Newcastle open talks to sign big £73m Gordon upgrade who's "like Isak"](https://www.footballfancast.com/newcastle-open-talks-to-sign-marcus-thuram-gordon-upgrade/ "Newcastle open talks to sign big £73m Gordon upgrade who's "like Isak"")
Newcastle United are looking to revive their frontline by signing a £73m star who is already better than Anthony Gordon.
An 8-3 aggregate exit, and with it, the end of Newcastle's Champions League adventure.
There was no time to process it.
Four days later came the Tyne-Wear derby — the first at St James' Park in over a decade — and the hope was that revenge would be sweet.
Anthony Gordon gave them the perfect start, slotting home in the tenth minute to take his Premier League tally to 10 goals since the turn of the year.
Newcastle led at half-time. Then the second half happened.
Newcastle-6
Chemsdine Talbi equalised for Sunderland, a Malick Thiaw header was disallowed, and in the dying seconds Brian Brobbey prodded home a 90th-minute winner to send the Sunderland end delirious and the home faithful into stunned silence.
Sunderland completed the league double, and Howe also became the first Newcastle manager in history to lose both of his first two league derbies against the Black Cats.
The result dropped Newcastle to 12th in the Premier League, leapfrogged by Sunderland, with European qualification now looking increasingly distant.
Eight defeats from their last 11 league outings is a grim statistic for a club that began the season competing on four fronts with genuine ambition.
Yet, amid the wreckage of a truly horrible week, Wilson and the recruitment team at St James' Park have delivered some rare good news — and it points firmly towards the future.
Newcastle reach agreement to sign Johan Martinez after pipping Chelsea
TEAMtalk and journalist Graeme Bailey report that Newcastle have won the race to sign 16-year-old Ecuadorian winger Johan Martinez from Independiente del Valle, the club who also produced twins Edwin and Holger Quintero, recently signed by Arsenal.
NUFC HOWE
The teenager has been identified as one of the most electrifying young prospects emerging from South America, with blistering pace, natural flair and the versatility to operate across the attacking line.
Newcastle are said to have sealed an agreement for Martinez, with Wilson in particular playing a 'key role'.
The competition for his signature was fierce.
Arsenal were involved, fresh from their relationship with Independiente del Valle, while Chelsea's BlueCo ownership also held talks over a potential deal for Martinez.
Man City, via the City Football Group, Liverpool, Brighton and Bundesliga clubs RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen were also keen, so virtually every major club with a serious youth recruitment network was aware of this kid.
Newcastle won anyway.
newcastle-team-goal-sunderland
TT indicate that the club's vision, the clear pathway on offer and the development programme Wilson has built were central to convincing Martinez and his representatives that St James' Park was the right home.
He will officially join in 2028 when he turns 18, and the deal is regarded internally as a significant long-term statement of intent.
On a week that delivered nothing but pain on the pitch, this is the kind of recruitment that reminds everyone at Newcastle what the broader project is building towards.
Elsewhere, other reports suggest Newcastle have also held early talks over a deal for Marcus Thuram.
elanga-newcastle-sunderland Related
He was worse than Elanga: Toon flop must never start for Newcastle again
Newcastle United had a number of underperformers in their defeat to Sunderland.