· 9 June 2025, 13:30
**One of Newcastle United's reported priority transfer targets this summer is Brighton and Hove Albion's Brazilian forward João Pedro.**
Newcastle have been long-time admirers of the versatile forward, having seen a move from Watford collapse before Joao Pedro joined Brighton, and Newcastle pivoted to Alexander Isak.
Now, having impressed for Brighton before running into a spot of disciplinary trouble at the end of the season, Newcastle are ready to take another punt on the 23-year-old.
Meanwhile, Sky Sports has reported that Brighton has already made a £34 million bid on a potential replacement.
> [](https://twitter.com/SkySportsNews/status/1931732908735377666)
Brighton already seems to be preparing for life without João Pedro
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Recently, Newcastle were said to be [interested in Olympiakos striker Charalampos Kostoulas](https://nufcfeed.com/newcastle-united-to-make-huge-offer-for-18-year-old-double-winner-also-wanted-by-arsenal-1355216), but it's Brighton who have made the first move.
Reportedly bidding £34 million for Kostoulas suggests that Brighton are already looking for someone to fill the void that will be left by João Pedro.
Newcastle will have plenty of things to work out before they launch an official bid for João Pedro, but Brighton having a replacement lined up will certainly grease the wheels.
João Pedro was keen to join Newcastle a couple of years ago
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Brighton's valuation will be the first big hurdle. Despite João Pedro having a falling out with Jan Paul van Hecke and being dropped from the squad for the final two games of the season, following a three-game ban for an elbow against Brentford, Fabian Hurzeler hasn't hinted that there's no way back for him, which is likely a clever ploy to keep his value up.
Then, of course, there's convincing João Pedro that he will get plenty of minutes with Alexander Isak, naturally the first-choice striker. João Pedro's versatility will certainly help Eddie Howe to convince him that he will be a regular starter, but a change of system is being heavily mooted, which could accommodate both.
There shouldn't be too much resistance from the player's side, we suspect. He was pretty keen on the move a couple of years ago before the deal fell apart.