Eddie Howe is looking to bolster Newcastle’s squad in the summer transfer window before taking aim at the Champions League and Premier League
It’s set to be a busy transfer window for Newcastle United, one spent both trying to hold onto current stars and upgrade the starting side and squad for another tilt at the Champions League, and Eddie Howe could be ready to make his latest splash if rumours are to be believed.
Howe seems to have achieved his number one priority in successfully fighting off attention for Alexander Isak with Arsenal close to signing Benjamin Sesko instead and Liverpool and Manchester United also switching striker targets.
Anthony Gordon’s future remains more uncertain with the Gunners making him one of their top targets for a cool £80 million as they look to secure a world-class left-winger - Mikel Arteta is also pursuing Rodrygo and Neco Williams.
However, Howe could finally be about to go on the offensive (something the club’s owners are no strangers to) and ignite the summer transfer window. Hijacking Liverpool’s attempts to sign Joao Pedro while taking Antoine Semenyo would be a major £140m statement of intent from the Magpies, potentially setting them up for a tilt at the 2025/26 Premier League title.
Snatching Liverpool target Joao Pedro would kick-start perfect summer
One of Newcastle’s great success under Eddie Howe - particularly amid injury crises - has been their adaptability, and they will need to show that even more next season thanks to European qualification. The Magpies will need to play differently against the likes of Bayern Munich or Inter Milan than against Leeds or Wolves or even one of the lowlier Champions League sides like Slavia Prague.
That means they’ll need to balance the ability to sit deep, absorb pressure and looking to pick off their opposition and score on the counter with having the capability to overwhelm teams doing the very same thing to them. Luckily, versatility is the name of Joao Pedro’s game and he thrives with the ball at his feet charging at a defender. He’s in the top 10% of forwards in Europe’s top five leagues for successful take-ons and in the top 2% for drawing a foul that leads to a goal - two sure-fire ways of breaking open a game - and Pedro’s breakneck pace means he’s always a threat on the counter.
Meanwhile with a Kloppian high press a staple of Howe’s Magpies, Pedro’s defensive work-rate also make him a dream fit. He ranks strongly for tackles won among similar players and in the 95th percentile for interceptions, numbers that would surely become even better in black and white.
While Gordon and Isak have Pedro’s top two starting positions of left wing and striker locked down - if the former stays - a major selling point of the Brazilian is versatility and he can also perform at second striker or on the right flank. So he’d be providing a contingency for if Gordon does depart or the ability for Howe to upgrade from Jacob Murphy on the other side of the front three if not.
Or it could be even more exciting. At the end of the season, Howe experimented with a 3-4-2-1 with great success - beating Chelsea in a result that effectively clinched Champions League football next season with Gordon and Harvey Barnes playing behind Isak. Pedro would be perfect for this role (while another of Howe’s targets would slot seamlessly into the back three in Marc Guehi) with Murphy or Lewis Hall providing support from wing-back.
Or Newcastle could even replicate the success they had moving Joelinton back from attack into midfield, which would allow them to accommodate another transfer target on the right wing in Semenyo.
Antoine Semenyo can transform Newcastle’s right flank
While not as refined with the ball at his feet, Semenyo is at home on the right flank unlike Pedro, having made around 60% of his appearances there for Bournemouth and scored the same proportion of his cherry-red goals.
The Ghanaian may not have quite the same prolific dribbling numbers but he is more effective after beating a man ranking in the top 10% among Premier League attackers for shots created after successful take-ons (which should rise further when paired with Isak), and he actually scored 11 goals last season - one more than Pedro.
And while he has been a right-sided player for the majority of his Bournemouth career, Semenyo is genuinely two-footed and was often deployed at striker by Bristol City before moving to the south coast.
Semenyo’s defensive output isn’t gamebreaking right now but he possesses a solid foundation with his physicality making it had to beat him out wide while the 25-year-old has shown an appetite for shifts out of possession as one of the best blockers in the division, and could be deployed at wing-back if Howe persists with his back three experiment.
With Newcastle seemingly set to ignore potential impending Profit and Sustainability Rules doom and make a splash this summer, bringing in two versatile attacking pieces with proven Premier League output would be an ideal place to start and Semenyo and Pedro fit the bill perfectly.
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