Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano
Newcastle are monitoring Brazilian top talent Andrey Santos since long time but there’s still no agreement in place with Vasco da Gama. Nothing done, as things stand. ⚪️🇧🇷 #NUFC
Open race with many clubs in for Andrey Santos, midfielder born in 2004.
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More on Andrey Santos: price tag will be really high for Brazilian star, more than €30m. 👀🇧🇷 #NUFC
Newcastle are monitoring him since long time — there’s good relationship with his agents too ⤵️
Fonte: Twitter do jornalista Fabrizio Romano
Newcastle confident over Andrey Santos deal; Vasco da Gama teammate Eguinaldo on radar
Newcastle United are in talks with Vasco da Gama over midfield starlet Andrey Santos, and 90min understands that they are also keen on his teammate Eguinaldo.
The Magpies are working hard to find some of the world’s top young talents and in the last few weeks secured the signing of Australian starlet Garang Kuol.
Holding midfielder Santos is a player that has been on Newcastle’s radar for more than 12 months, and lines of communication between the two clubs have been open since the summer.
Vasco are believed to be looking at a deal worth over £20m for the midfielder, as they believe him to be one of the best young players in Brazil, and Newcastle have not been scared off by such a price tag.
Indeed, Newcastle are confident a deal can be agreed, but 90min can also confirm that they have also enquired about fellow 18-year-old Eguinaldo.
Eguinaldo is a forward who can play across the front three, and like Santos, has enjoyed an impressive season thus far in Brazil’s top flight.
Eguinaldo has only just broken into the Vasco first team this season and has shown his ability with three goals in six starts, and his form has also seen him recognised internationally after being called up to Brazil’s Under-20 squad for the first time.
The teenager came through the ranks of local side Artsul before being snapped up by Vasco in 2021, initially on loan, and they only agreed his permanent move on a five-year deal this summer, but he is already attracting major interest and one of those clubs is Newcastle.
Newcastle hope to seal a deal for Santos before the January window, but their interest in Eguinaldo is not as far advanced – but that may change in the coming weeks.
Fonte: 90 min
Newcastle plan three key transfers and global tours as Saudis plot expansion in second year
First came the announcement, then came the memes.
When the Saudi-funded takeover of Newcastle United was confirmed a year ago, it sparked delirium in Tyneside and dissent outside the city walls. But there was a rough consensus on what would happen next: a wild rollercoaster of disruption that would see the gauche new guests at football’s top table try and upend European football.
One photoshop that mocked up a team photo including Kevin De Bruyne, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in black and white summed up what many – including plenty inside football’s recruitment business – saw as an inevitable attempt to sprinkle some stardust over St James’ Park.
Only that is not what the new owners have done in year one. Far from it. With deal brokers Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi leading the club’s revolution from the front, there has been more of a meticulous, methodical approach to growing Newcastle.
The first six months were about stabilising. Relegation was a threat so recruitment in January was more extensive than planned but the philosophy was “character checks, not blank cheques”. They had to get good people as well as good players. That will be a non-negotiable of the club’s transfer policy.
Kieran Trippier was the first man through the door, sending a message that they were serious. He has committed fully, to the city, project and manager, and his presence opens doors to others. None of the players have release clauses, and Eddie Howe does not have one for England either.
More was spent in the summer and this January, money is set aside for further additions. Targets to fill include a striker, a defensive midfielder and the number ten role.
Of course, part of this caution is enforced. Financial fair play meant that an uninhibited splurge would have been impossible, even if the truly global stars had been open to Newcastle’s advances.
But it was never the plan. “We don’t view FFP as a bad thing necessarily,” a senior source said.
“What it has done is focus minds – we know we can’t do everything at the outset, so what are our absolute priorities? Find them and concentrate on them for now.
“There’s so much that needs to be done – from commercial to performance, even down to some of the processes which were out of date – that you could get lost in it all.”
Year two though, in some ways, is the more fascinating one. This is a project that eventually aims to make Newcastle the best in Europe – but that feels a long way away still. There’s still so much to do, including building a world-class training ground which may not be finished until 2025.
Ask anyone at Newcastle what the target is this year and they remain tight-lipped but with all their players available, there’s a feeling they can challenge for European football this year. Injuries hurt them, which is why the club’s recruitment is also revolving around adding strength-in-depth.
They need to grow off-the-field too. As i revealed over the summer, the club has bought out their partnership with FUN88 to allow them to negotiate with a new commercial partner.
It will be the first big sponsorship deal of the new regime and the first under new Premier League rules that Newcastle signed up to which require all investment to go through an external agency that assesses whether it represents market value.
In short, that means the club need a higher profile – both in the UK and globally. The obvious market to grow in is Saudi Arabia – further training camps in the country are planned – but i understands there are plans to grow the club’s footprint in America and Australia too.
Pre-season tours in both countries, eventually, feel inevitable. Chief executive Darren Eales, who spent eight years at MLS club Atlanta United, will be able to grease those wheels. The signing of 18-year-old wonderkid Garang Kuol last week can only help grow their presence down under.
Kuol, a precocious talent who became the youngest Australia international since Harry Kewell and will go to the World Cup in November, is the first of many signings of that ilk earmarked by the club. Highly-rated Irish defender Alex Murphy joined from Galway and i understands the next market Newcastle are looking to tap into is South America.
They have held talks with Vasco da Gama over £30m-rated 18-year-old Andrey Santos, a player nicknamed the Brazilian Busquets who has also attracted interest from Barcelona. For all the photoshops circulating a year ago, that is the kind of signing they believe will bring long-term success on Tyneside.
A multi-club model is for the long-term, which would clearly help those sort of recruitment plans. But there are more prosaic priorities for the short-term – staffing up a club cut to the bone under Mike Ashley. Commercial, executive and backroom job adverts have been almost a weekly occurrence as Newcastle look to beef up their set-up.
“The message is very clear from everyone after a year. We’re only just getting started,” a senior source tells i.
Fonte: inews.co.uk