Newcastle United set out to battle Barcelona and Real Madrid for midfield wonderkid | OneFootball

AZ Alkmaar midfielder Kees Smit is the flavour of the month in the Netherlands, having earned his first call up to die Oranje this month. The 19-year-old, who had already caught the eye of Barcelona and Real Madrid in May, is becoming one of the most coveted young talents in Europe.

This summer Los Blancos were interested in bringing in a midfielder, and Smit was one of the options that was considered for a move, off the back of an excellent under-19s European Championship with the Netherlands, who beat Spain in the final. However Barcelona are also interested in Smit, who has a regular starting spot for Alkmaar these days.

Newcastle United to battle for Smit’s signature

According to DM, Newcastle United are the latest side willing to do battle for his signature in 2026. They also mention Borussia Dortmund as a potential suitors. They mention a price tag of around €23m, but Smit is under contract until 2028. One of the ways that Newcastle would try to sell Smit on a move is the promise of game time that he might not receive at one of Europe’s other giants.

Image via Alex Nicodim/Pro Shots

Smit has declared preference

However in an interview this week, Smit did admit that Barcelona were his favourite club, meaning that if the Blaugrana do move for him, that would give them an advantage. In his press conference ahead of the Netherlands clash with Poland, manager Ronald Koeman also compared him to Barcelona star Pedri, whom he handed a debut too as a teenager.

One sign that game time is important to Smit though is that despite interest from Real Madrid and Barcelona, he showed no sign of wanting to leave AZ this summer, instead preferring to establish himself in the Eredivisie before moving abroad to another giant.