It looks like Newcastle United have gone back in for two long-term targets over the past few days.
News broke last night on early talks taking place with Nottingham Forest over Anthony Elanga, while Saturday afternoon saw widespread reports of a renewed attempt to sign Joao Pedro.
Pedro came close to signing from Watford back in 2022 and it’s clear Eddie Howe is a big admirer, with his interest likely to have grown after watching the 23-year-old reach double figures in each of his two seasons at Brighton.
On the subject of Howe, interesting details have emerged via North East reporter Mark Douglas on his sales pitch to the Brazilian.
According to the i Paper, Eddie Howe’s sales pitch to Joao Pedro has featured the potential for a new system that could see the Brighton star partner Alexander Isak in attack.
Mark Douglas reports that Howe is exploring a formation change ahead of the 2025/26 season, telling striker targets that they will not be simple ‘back-up’ to our star striker.
Instead, it seems the club believe Pedro could play alongside our Swedish superstar, hinting at a 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 system where a midfielder is sacrificed and second forward added to help break down stubborn defences or low blocks.
Sky Sports revealed earlier this week that the Seagulls striker will only leave the AMEX for a starting role. In reaction to that, many question if a Newcastle switch was realistic given Isak’s presence in attack.
However, Douglas reports that Newcastle have received encouragement that the player is open to signing at St James’ Park – although that may only be half the battle.
Douglas insists that our move for Pedro is at an early stage, despite long-term interest and the belief he could be an ideal fit head into next season.
The big issue could be Brighton’s valuation. The iPaper report that they are likely to demand around £60m for the Brazil international, looking to double their money after paying £30m to Watford two years ago.
That sort of figure would be double the fee Chelsea have just paid to land previous target Liam Delap, and you wonder how that works financially when we’ve also got high-priority deals to pursue for a goalkeeper, centre-back and right winger.