Eddie Howe and Joao Pedro (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images, Shaun Brooks – CameraSport via Getty Images)
Newcastle have ambitions of significantly improving their squad this summer, and there is scope to do so with PSR not expected to be an issue. But despite this, they could be set to miss out on yet another of their leading targets.
At the start of the summer, Newcastle had Bryan Mbeumo and Marc Guehi at the top of their shopping list, but they are set to miss out on both. Mbeumo is expected to join either Man United or Tottenham, while Liverpool are the favourites to sign Guehi.
After discarding Mbeumo, Newcastle moved Joao Pedro up their list of targets. And despite early optimism, things are now not looking good with him either.
Newcastle believe Joao Pedro is prioritising Chelsea move
Despite having approached Pedro in recent days, Newcastle believe that they are not favourited to sign the Brighton forward. As per The Telegraph, the Carabao Cup winners fear missing out on him to Chelsea.
Newcastle think that Pedro, who registered 10 goals and seven assists during the 2024-25 season, is holding out for a move to Chelsea, as they believe the 23-year-old prefers to reside in London. And if the UEFA Conference League champions step up their interest in the coming weeks, it is expected that he will make that move rather than head to St James’ Park.
It has been a very frustrating start to the summer for Newcastle. There had been hope of significant business being done due to their strong PSR position, but so far, it has been more of the same from the last three transfer windows.
It remains to be seen how Newcastle approach the market over the course of the summer. They are still in for Anthony Elanga, but they could start to move away from looking at Premier League players due to their failed pursuits in recent weeks.
