The writing was on the wall over the last 24 hours and it’s now been confirmed.
Newcastle United have lost out on the signing of João Pedro, with widespread reports on Sunday night now confirming that Chelsea have agreed a fee for the Brighton forward.
As revealed in a David Ornstein ‘exclusive’ just moments ago, the fee will be in excess of £50m, with the Brazilian set to sign a seven-year deal at Stamford Bridge.
Medical tests have already been booked and the 23-year-old will fly out to the USA to join their Club World Cup squad.
Some damning details have emerged in Ornstein’s piece for The Athletic. He writes: ‘The 23-year-old Brazilian was targeted by Chelsea and Newcastle United but he only wanted to join the west London side.’
This suggests the former Watford star who we tried to sign in 2022 was always holding out for a move to Chelsea, raising questions as to why we got involved in such a public pursuit if it was known we were not his priority.
But, whether we like it or not, that’s another ‘top target’ who won’t be arriving on Tyneside, and comes after a failed attempt to land Liam Delap earlier this month.