Trafford is set to be Newcastle’s first signing of the summer after the club’s hierarchy held ‘productive’ talks with their counterparts at Burnley over a compromise fee for the goalkeeper.
Burnley rejected Newcastle’s offer of a total package worth around £27m last week as they were understood to be holding out for a higher up-front fee for Trafford.
Manchester City inserted a 20 per cent sell-on clause into the £15m deal that took Trafford to Turf Moor in the summer of 2023, hence Burnley’s determination to extract the maximum possible value from the 22-year-old this summer.
However, after a series of talks in the last 48 hours, an agreement is now believed to be close that would enable Newcastle to tie up the transfer.
Trafford, who was a key part of the Burnley defence that was the best in the Championship last season, has expressed a desire to move to St James’ Park this summer, and Newcastle officials are confident that personal terms will not be a problem.
Once Burnley give Trafford formal permission to complete a transfer, he will travel to Tyneside to complete a medical and sign his new deal with the Magpies.
Trafford’s arrival will leave Newcastle’s current number one, Nick Pope, with a decision to make, with Leeds United waiting in the wings to make a move for the England international.
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Newcastle have been trying to make transfer progress on three different fronts in the last week, but while the Trafford deal looks like having a successful resolution, talks with Nottingham Forest over Anthony Elanga have hit an impasse while Newcastle’s hopes of signing Pedro have suffered a major blow in the last couple of days.
While Chelsea have long been linked with a move for Pedro, Newcastle had hoped that by tabling a formal offer last week, they would be able to see off competition from Stamford Bridge.
However, Newcastle’s initial offer, which is understood to have involved an up-front payment of £45m with a further £5m of add-ons was rejected at the Amex Stadium, with the Brighton hierarchy refusing to budge on their £60m valuation of the Brazil international.
While Newcastle officials pondered whether or not to return to the table, Chelsea made a formal approach of their own which reportedly comes much close to meeting Brighton’s requirements.
As a result, Chelsea now appear to be favourites to sign Pedro, who it is claimed would rather move to London than the North-East.
Speaking to South American media outlet, Travela, earlier this month, Pedro’s Brighton team-mate, Igor Julio, said: “Joao Pedro had already told Brighton some time ago that his desire was to leave, look for new things and take the next step.
“It seems it will be difficult and complicated for him to stay here, we have to be honest. He always told me that he really wants to live in London, so I think he will prioritise what comes from there first.”
Having agreed a £55m deal to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jamie Gittens, Chelsea are keen to continue their major summer rebuild with the signing of Pedro, with their lucrative run to the quarter-finals of the Club World Cup in the United States having helped their position in relation to the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules.
Newcastle’s recruitment team remain in dialogue with the hierarchy at Brighton, but Chelsea’s interest means they will have to increase their initial offer significantly if they are to have any chance of signing Pedro this summer.
Newcastle will officially lose the services of sporting director, Paul Mitchell, later this week, and are also still searching for a new chief executive to replace the outgoing Darren Eales, who announced his intention to step down from his current position because of health reasons earlier this year.
