Newcastle United have made progress over the weekend on a potential deal for Joao Pedro, but a deal is still to be struck.
This is what reliable journalist Craig Hope has suggested in his latest video uploaded to Instagram as he discussed the Toon’s pursuit of the Brazilian.
Reports are now indicating Newcastle could face serious competition from Everton for the forward, who are looking at the possibility of rivalling the Tyneside club for Watford’s 21-year-old.
It had been suggested by Fabrizio Romano on Monday night that a deal between the two clubs had been struck and Pedro would soon become a Newcastle player.
However, Hope does not believe this is the case, but has suggested there are still some details of the deal which need to be ironed out, with a possible extra few million pounds potentially required.
He said: “The other thing as well, reports emerged last night [Monday] that Newcastle and Watford had struck a deal for Joao Pedro, it was all agreed.
“Now, very quickly, certainly the information I have, it became apparent that wasn’t the case. They remain in discussions and Eddie Howe said this morning no deal has been agreed.
“They remain in discussions, and there was definite progress over the weekend. Last week, various sources were saying that they were miles apart, whereas they came closer over the weekend, but there still is a little bit of a disparity in terms of the exact make-up of the deal, the numbers involved, the nature of the add-ons.
“But again, the news on Wilson over the next 24/48 hours could change their thinking in that regard. Although, from what I understand, a lot of people on the inside at Newcastle are very sweet on Pedro, and I probably would expect it to happen regardless of the outcome on Wilson.”
TIF Thoughts on Hope’s comments…
It is definitely promising to hear Hope suggest he would expect Newcastle to get this deal over the line despite the differences the two clubs still have over the finer details.
Is Joao Pedro good enough for NUFC?
Yes
No
We feel it has been a fairly underwhelming window from Newcastle thus far. They have made it apparent they were not going to spend huge money this summer, but to still not have an attacking player through the doors is a bit of a concern.
And with Callum Wilson potentially looking at a spell on the sidelines, it will be interesting to see whether this is a deal which could pick up pace quickly if Wilson’s prognosis is not what the Tyneside club are hoping for.