Fabrizio Romano says ‘everything was ready’ for Newcastle to sign Joao Pedro

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On August 22nd, transfer expert Fabrizio Romano claimed that Newcastle United were set to sign Joao Pedro from Watford.

Fast forward one month and the Brazilian has signed a new contract at Vicarage Road. Watford announced on Friday that Pedro has signed a new deal with the Hornets until 2028.

The announcement should end speculation of Pedro moving to Newcastle in the short-term, despite a recent report stating that he is still a target for the Magpies.

But Pedro remains a Watford player, even though a move to St James’ Park was ‘absolutely agreed’ last month.

That’s what Romano believes, and he has explained what happened after previously being so certain that the 21-year-old was going to join Newcastle.

Romano on Joao Pedro’s failed Newcastle move

Last month, Romano claimed that a £30million deal between Newcastle and Watford had been agreed and that Pedro would sign a six-year contract with the Magpies. The journalist even tweeted his trademark three words ‘here we go‘ to signify that the transfer was happening.

But then he was met with a raft of reporters claiming the opposite and that Pedro’s move to Newcastle hadn’t been agreed.

Now in an interview with the Chronicle, Romano explained why he stated that a deal to bring Pedro to St James’ Park was done.

“Everything was ready, they had an agreement for £25 million plus £5m in add-ons,” he said.

“There was also an agreement on the sell-on clause, so everything was ready and verbally agreed.

“There was a meeting with Gino Pozzo, the player’s agent and intermediaries involved. Everything was ready and the only thing they were waiting for was the final approval from Newcastle to sign the documents. This is why I said here we go because it was absolutely agreed, and I’m 100% sure of what I’m saying.”

Romano then added why Newcastle signed Alexander Isak over Pedro.

“Newcastle decided to go for their priority target [Alexander Isak] and to keep the Joao Pedro situation open for two or three days, so they were still discussing with the agents and with Watford. But at the end, they decided on Isak and the deal collapsed.”

Newcastle owners backed Eddie Howe with Alexander Isak deal

When Isak became available, it was a no brainer for Newcastle. They broke the bank and brought the Swede in for £59million.

It was a lot more than Pedro was going to cost, but Isak was the club’s top attacking target. The owners backed Eddie Howe, and got him the striker he wanted to sign.

That meant the Pedro deal was off, despite everything being agreed. In the long run, it should prove to be the right decision, as Isak has the potential to be an absolute superstar.

So does Pedro, but it feels like the Sweden international has a higher ceiling.

And there’s nothing stopping Newcastle revisiting Pedro in the future. He will likely continue to be watched by the Toon recruitment team, despite the fact he’s just penned a new contract at Watford.