'At the moment': Fabrizio Romano says Newcastle United are prepared to spend 'big money' for 19-year-old this month
Newcastle United have been very quiet in the transfer market so far this month, and it is expected that this may well be the case for the entirety of January.
The Magpies have funds available and do have a couple of positions they could potentially add reinforcements, but the goal seems to be to hold out until the summer when the market is more agreeable.
Given Newcastle's current defensive injury crisis, however, Eddie Howe and Ross Wilson may be forced into action, but they are thought to be conducting a thorough review before making any moves.
There has been one player whose name has been linked with a January move a lot, with Newcastle hoping to get a jump on some big clubs who are likely waiting until the summer to swoop.
Newcastle are still very keen on signing Kees Smit
AZ Alkmaar's 19-year-old midfield sensation, Kees Smit, is attracting a lot of interest from around Europe and Newcastle were hoping to get a deal done in January rather than trying to scrap for his signature in the summer.
Of course, Alkmaar and Smit himself are well aware of all of the interest in the young Dutchman, and are therefore willing to wait until the end of the season to to make any decisions.
However, Fabrizio Romano has hinted that Newcastle haven't given up on a January swoop.
Fabrizio Romano says Newcastle are ready to pounce this month
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano mentioned Newcastle by name as a club who are willing to try and snap up Smit this month.
“I keep mentioning that name to you as one of the big names we’ll have for 2026 on the market – summer more likely than January. It’s true that Jorge Mendes is taking care of this. Since December, Mendes is working to coordinate the future of Kees Smit. There are conversations ongoing. Newcastle wanted to bring the player in January and were prepared to pay big money. But at the moment, nothing is advanced yet on the player’s side.”
Unfortunately, we don't expect anything short of an astronomical bid would make Alkmaar budge on this one, given that they know that some of Europe's elite are likely to come knocking in the summer.
Smit is the type of young talent we'd absolutely love at the Toon, and partnering him with Lewis Miley could be the start of a fantastic partnership that could last for years, but we just don't see the Magpies having enough to tempt him to Tyneside over the likes of Real Madrid.
