Newcastle ‘submit monster bid’ for electric winger to hijack Brighton ‘agreement’ | OneFootball

Newcastle are stepping up their pursuit of a new winger following the sale of Anthony Gordon, and reports suggest they have submitted a formal bid for an exciting 18-year-old who Brighton have already struck an ‘agreement’ for.

TEAMtalk had consistently reported that Gordon was expected to leave St James’ Park and his transfer to Barcelona, worth £75million (including add-ons), was finalised last week.

The England international’s exit leaves a big void in Eddie Howe’s squad, and the Magpies have reportedly identified Nigerian winger Zadok Yohanna as a target.

The 18-year-old, who plays for AIK, has impressed since making the move to European football last summer, notching five goals and four assists in 18 appearances for the Swedish side so far.

According to Swedish outlet Expressen, Newcastle have made a ‘monster bid’ of €24million (£20.7m / $27.9m) plus bonuses for Yohanna, which is indeed a sizeable bid to receive from AIK’s point of view.

The race to sign the teenager is described as ‘open’, with Brighton ‘still in the picture’ after showing concrete interest of their own. Talks between Newcastle and AIK, as well as Brighton and AIK, are said to be ongoing as the Premier League duo do battle for Yohanna.

Newcastle, Brighton in race for Nigerian winger

Following Newcastle’s reported bid for Yohanna, respected journalist, Florian Plettenberg, insisted that Brighton remain confident of winning the race for his signature.

Plettenberg brought news yesterday of Brighton reaching a ‘verbal agreement’ with the winger on personal terms.

Now, in a further update, Plettenberg wrote on X today: “Newcastle have entered the race for Zadok Yohanna. The interest is concrete.

“However, Yohanna and Brighton have an agreement in place, as revealed and 100% confirmed again.

“#NUFC Brighton are still in direct negotiations with AIK. Brighton are not giving up despite Newcastle and other clubs.

“A decision is expected soon.”

With this in mind, it will be interesting to see whether Newcastle can convince Yohanna to make a U-turn on his agreement with Brighton and join them instead.

TEAMtalk has previously revealed how Newcastle held talks over a big-money deal to sign Real Betis winger Abde Ezzalzouli.

The 24-year-old is viewed as a player who could instantly replace Gordon, and is perhaps more ready to step straight into Howe’s starting XI than top prospect Yohanna.