Alan Pardew says fee Chelsea paid for Newcastle United target is 'excessive' but will ultimately work out
Chelsea are set to complete the signing of João Pedro as the Brighton and Hove Albion man jets out to complete his move to the Blues, who are still in Club World Cup action.
Newcastle United appeared to be in cruise control for a while in the pursuit of João Pedro until Chelsea stepped in, and then it felt inevitable where the Brazilian would choose to go.
The Blues are set to pay a reported £60 million plus add-ons for the 23-year-old with a seven-year contract on the table.
Since the rule change around amortisation, the £60 million fee will not be spread out over the seven-year duration of João Pedro's deal, but over the first five after Chelsea exploited that loophole too many times by offering eight-year deals to every new signing.
Alan Pardew says the fee Chelsea will pay for João Pedro is 'excessive'
Now, speaking on TalkSPORT, former Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has claimed that Chelsea have perhaps overpaid for João Pedro, but he doesn't believe that it will be an issue in the long term.
"They're going to spread the payments, which, again gets around the rules, etc. A great signing for them.
"I'm a big fan of his. They have got it in time. Wow. I think that's a first-class player and will fit well with all those young players around him. Newcastle will be absolutely distraught about that.
"Chelsea's model is based around young players and young attacking players don't really lose much value so I can see that this is a safe bet for them.
"He's out of contract soon and they have taken him on. This fee looks excessive, but Newcastle wanted him.
"He's established, he can play through the middle, he can play off the side. He gives you great variation so I think he's a great player. It's a big fee but I think he can justify that fee."
Newcastle will have other targets in mind after missing out on João Pedro
Newcastle will now press on, looking at other possibilities to play in the role that would have been assigned to João Pedro had he arrived.
The Magpies are still keen on Anthony Elanga, and we expect efforts to sign him will ramp up this week, with James Trafford's arrival also reportedly imminent.
Yes, it's another blot on Newcastle's transfer copybook, but missing out on João Pedro certainly isn't the end of the world for Newcastle, and if players would rather sit on the bench at Chelsea, queueing up for minutes like the line outside Bonnie Blue's house, then that's up to them.
