Newcastle United are eyeing a Brazilian wonderkid, in a bid to add exciting young quality to their squad.
The Magpies were magnificent at the weekend, dispatching of Arsenal 1-0 for the second successive season, with plenty of the club’s burgeoning young talents shining. Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento – aged 20 and 21 respectively – slugged it out for the Man of the Match award, with 23-year-old Anthony Gordon delivering the defining moment of brilliance, as he assisted Alexander Isak.
Eddie Howe has put his faith in plenty of youngsters since arriving at St. James’ Park, too, with the likes of Lewis Miley and Garang Kuol signalling a view to the future at Newcastle.
Former sporting director Dan Ashworth was integral to ushering in younger talents at Newcastle during his time on the Toon, before leaving for Manchester United. His replacement, Paul Mitchell, seems intent on the same, with “informal talks” detailed by BM&C in Brazil, between the Magpies and Sao Paulo.
Manager Eddie Howe has built his side around the talents of two Brazilian stars, in Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes. The pair could well be a big draw for any young talents – particularly the latter, who is ranked at no.4 in FourFourTwo’s list of the best defensive midfielders in the world right now.
Newcastle are eyeing 18-year-old ‘revelation’ William Gomes according to the report, and after penning a new contract in August, has a release clause of €120 million.
Another Brazilian outlet, Globo Esporte, adds that Sao Paulo are tentatively assessing the value of their wonderkid, who has already started in the quarter-finals of the Libertadores.
With the Premier League reportedly scaling back on their Associated Party Transaction Rules (APT), which were brought in to limit clubs from signing inflated sponsorship deals with companies linked with their ownerships, Newcastle could well be in a position to spend more in the coming months.
In FourFourTwo’s view, however, there’s no way that Gomes will leave Brazil for €120m.
the €120m clause is simply there to ward off suitors who may look to sign him Gomes on a bargain – and FourFourTwo understands that Newcastle’s informal chats with Sao Paulo recently are as much for the Brazilian side to ascertain how much they could demand for their player as they are for Newcastle to state their interest. It’s far more likely that the teenager leaves for a fee under £15m.
Gomes is valued at just €5m right now by Transfermarkt, anyway, with his current deal expiring in 2028. Newcastle travel to high-flying Nottingham Forest next Sunday, when Premier League action returns.
