adminNewcastle kicked off their summer transfer business by selling Anthony Gordon to Barcelona last month, but attention has now switched to potential incomings, with sensational star with dazzling skills dubbed the next Neymar one of a number of targets currently being pursued.
The Skillful winger is attracting interest from three Premier League clubs, with Newcastle, Brighton and Chelsea all understood to have held discussions with club officials.
Newcastle’s recruitment team have held talks with the club hierarchy, as well as player’s representatives, and discussed possible figures for the teenager, with national media suggesting the Magpies have tabled a formal offer of around £21m plus add-ons.
Brighton have also made a formal bid for the player, with sources suggesting the Amex is currently a likelier destination for the youngster than St James’ Park.
Newcastle are wary of making too much of their transfer business public this summer after a succession of much-publicised moves failed to succeed 12 months ago, but AIK have issued a statement confirming that talks are under way and are expected to end with Yohanna leaving the club this summer.
The AIK statement said:
“AIK Fotboll has initiated negotiations regarding the sale of player Zadok Yohanna. The current bid indicates a net profit higher than £20m. If and when an agreement has been reached, this will be communicated.”
Yohanna spent his formative footballing years at an academy in his native Nigeria before signing his first professional terms with AIK last summer.
He made his senior debut for AIK last August, having signed a contract until 2029, and has made a total of 18 senior appearances in the Allsvenskan, scoring five goals.
The current Swedish top-flight season began in April and only recently broke up for a month because of the World Cup, with Yohanna’s most recent appearance coming when he played the first half of AIK’s 4–2 home defeat to Djurgården last month.
A youthful, energetic winger with an abundance of pace, Newcastle’s interest in Yohanna reflects the direction the club want to take in recruitment this summer.
Sporting director Ross Wilson is keen to widen the geographical scope of the club’s recruitment drive and target younger, less proven players with greater development potential than a number of those signed last summer.
Osasuna winger Victor Muñoz is another player being actively pursued, with the 22-year-old regarded as a potential replacement for Gordon.
Primarily a left winger but also able to play centrally or on the right, Muñoz joined Osasuna from Real Madrid for €5m last summer.
While Osasuna struggled last season, narrowly avoiding relegation from La Liga, Muñoz had a successful campaign, scoring seven goals and providing five assists.
He has won two senior caps and was named in Spain’s 26-man squad for the forthcoming World Cup, where the reigning European champions will compete in Group H alongside Uruguay, Saudi Arabia, and Cape Verde.
Muñoz’s contract at Osasuna reportedly contains a £35m release clause, meaning Newcastle are aware of the financial requirements needed to sign him. Real Madrid have a buyback option giving them first refusal over his future, but reports suggest they are not currently interested in a deal.
That potentially leaves the door open for Newcastle to make a formal move for Muñoz, who has also been linked with Sunderland in the Spanish press.
Newcastle have also been credited with interest in Lille forward Matías Fernández-Pardo, RB Leipzig’s Antonio Nusa, and Real Betis’ Abde Ezzalzouli as they look to rebuild a squad that underperformed last season, missing out on European qualification.
Abdulhafiz Teslim
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