Before the September 1st transfer deadline, Newcastle pushed hard to sign Joao Pedro from Watford. The Brazilian was the subject of a £25m bid from the Magpies, with Fabrizio Romano claiming that the South American was on the verge of joining Eddie Howe at St James’ Park. However, Watford dug their heels in, and Newcastle eventually managed to sign Alexander Isak in a £63m deal from Real Sociedad instead. Newcastle remain interested in Pedro despite that, with The Athletic claiming in recent hours that internal talks have been held over a £35m January move for the 20-year-old. Now, there’s a problem.
NEWCASTLE TARGET JOAO PEDRO SIGNS NEW CONTRACT
Well, Newcastle’s chances of signing Pedro have now become a lot slimmer, as Watford have managed to agree a new six-year contract with their No.10 against all odds. The youngster was said to be keen on a move to Tyneside over the summer, but despite their status as a Championship side, the Hornets have convinced the Newcastle target to stay at Vicarage Road. It comes after Pedro scored two goals and provided two assists in nine Championship appearances so far this season.
The Magpies have spent the entire summer looking for a new forward to act as backup to Callum Wilson. It was meant to be Hugo Ekitike, but he decided to join PSG instead. Newcastle have since been left to look elsewhere, and have been linked with Kalimuendo – who has ironically been pushed down the pecking order at PSG by Ekitike. It was claimed last month that Dan Ashworth had tabled a £17million bid for the Frenchman, who has excelled on loan at Lens over the past two years. He scored 12 Ligue 1 goals last season, which caught the attention of Newcastle and other Premier League teams.
