Newcastle United initiate talks over 25-year-old transfer — Anthony Gordon will hate it

Joao Pedro isn’t the only Brighton and Hove Albion player Newcastle United reportedly hold an interest in.

The Magpies almost signed Pedro from Watford three years ago. Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano claimed a deal worth £30million was in place and that personal terms had been agreed over a contract until 2028.

However, a transfer didn’t materialise. United instead brought in Alexander Isak for a club-record £63m while Pedro remained at Vicarage Road before moving to Brighton for £30m the following summer.

Pedro has scored 30 goals in 70 appearances in two campaigns for the Seagulls but might have played his last game. The Brazilian recently had a training ground bust-up with one of his teammates, which saw him left out of the final two games of last season.

And the teammate involved in the incident is reportedly of interest to Eddie Howe’s side.

Newcastle United initiate talks with Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke

Our sister title, 3 Added Minutes, claims Newcastle have initiated talks with the representatives of Brighton centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke.

The 25-year-old l has been a regular starter for the past two seasons and he’s gradually progressed into one of the Premier League’s best ball-carrying defenders.

Howe is keen on signing a central defender this summer and also holds a long-term interest in Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi. Sven Botman is the only centre-back in Newcastle’s squad under the age of 30, with Fabian Schar and Dan Burn both approaching their mid 30s.

Brighton would likely command a hefty fee for van Hecke, who has recently been crowned their Player of the Year, which casts doubt over a potential deal.

And a move possibly wouldn’t go down well with Pedro - or Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon, although it may be water under the bridge by now...

Jan Paul van Hecke & Anthony Gordon incident

Van Hecke took centre stage when Brighton won 2-1 at St James’ Park in the FA Cup fifth round in March after he got Gordon sent off.

Referee Anthony Taylor had already blown for offside when Gordon pushed van Hecke in the head. The Albion defender responded by throwing himself to the ground.

Gordon’s red card resulted in a three-match ban, forcing him to miss Premier League matches against West Ham United and Brentford, and the Carabao Cup final against Liverpool.

Explaining why Newcastle didn’t appeal the red card, Howe said: “We discussed it as a club, with the people that we needed to discuss it with, lawyers etc and we felt that there probably wasn’t sufficient grounds.

“There was no intention from Anthony Gordon. Without going into too much detail on the actual event itself, I think the Brighton player sort of bends down and it makes the push look worse.

“There is no intention from Anthony to hurt anybody but you have to look at it and think ‘does this [appeal] have a chance of being successful?’ If there is no chance of being successful, what is the point of appealing? So Anthony understands.”

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