Newcastle fear their move for Joao Pedro will be hijacked by Chelsea.

The Champions League Magpies are readying a formal approach to Brighton for Pedro, who is believed to have expressed a desire to leave this summer.

3

Newcastle remains wary of becoming entangled in a bidding battle with other Premier League clubs and European teams who are interested in the Brazilian player.

Eddie Howe’s squad is especially apprehensive about Chelsea, as they have frequently acquired both players and managers from the Sussex region in recent seasons.

Howe has been a long-term admirer of the £70m rated Pedro and tried to sign him before he joined Brighton from Watford in 2023.

The 23-year-old’s willingness to play as a striker, no.10 or out wide appeals to Newcastle manager Howe.

Should Pedro make the switch to Newcastle, he would become the club’s third Brazilian on the books alongside Joelinton and captain Bruno Guimaraes.

Pedro transferred to Brighton from Watford in May 2023 for a club-record sum of £30 million, and the team seems poised to garner a significant profit if he leaves the Seagulls this summer.

The Brazilian netted an impressive 20 goals from 40 appearances across all competitions in his debut season at Brighton.

Of his 20 strikes, nine were scored in the Premier League, while five came via the FA Cup and an additional six in the Seagulls’ Europa League campaign.

He then reached double figures in the league for the first time in the 2024/25 season with ten Premier League goals.

However, it was not a season without drama.

3

During a clash against Brentford in December, Pedro avoided a red card despite attempting to elbow an opponent.

Pedro looked to race away from Brentford’s Yehor Yarmoliuk, but the Bees midfielder held back his rival by pulling on his shirt.

The act enraged Pedro and he threw an elbow in Yarmoliuk’s direction but missed him completely.

Luckily for the Brazilian, he escaped any punishment as the VAR deemed it was not a red card offence.

Pedro also missed a stretch of five games towards the end of the season.

A red card suspension due to lashing out at Brentford’s Nathan Collins in April accounted for three of the games.

3

But he missed the final two games following a training ground row with teammate Jan Paul van Hecke.

Seagulls boss Fabian Hurzeler confirmed an incident had taken place but tried to downplay the severity of it.

“With Joao we had a small issue in training, a type which isn’t uncommon from time to time in all football clubs,” Hurzeler said in May.

“We dealt with it internally, and the matter is closed.”

Watch all of the FIFA Club World Cup free on DAZN. Sign up now so you don’t miss any of the action.