Report: Newcastle failed with serious attempt to sign £34m Brazilian during January transfer window

Newcastle United made no first-team additions to the squad during the January transfer window in what seemed to be a conscious effort to shine a light on the restrictive nature of Financial Fair Play/Profit and Sustainability Rules.

It may have been more than a protest for the Magpies and may actually have been down to there having been no headroom left in the budget to make any major signings with just the acquisition of Alfie Harrison from Manchester City who went straight into the youth team.

It was a quite month all round with one of the lowest net spends in a long time right across the Premier League as PSR hit hard. Again, it may have been tactical by the Premier League clubs as a way of accelerating talks on changing the rules, but we'll never truly know.

Things might have been different though, according to Italian outlet TuttoAtalanta who claim that Newcastle made a serious attempt to land Ederson after being linked with him for weeks leading up to the transfer window.

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Newcastle sent an agent with a cheque to sign Ederson in January

Reportedly, Newcastle turned up to Atalanta with an agent and a cheque for €40million (£34.3million) for Brazilian defensive midfielder Ederson.

It sounds as though Newcastle didn't even get through the door as Atalanta had already made the decision to not sell any of its big stars in the winter window and refused to even negotiate.

Now it remains to be seen if Newcastle go back this summer for another attempt.

Summer is already gearing up to be crazy

A defensive midfielder will still be on the shopping list for Eddie Howe, although with the injuries to Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles keeping both players out until at least December, the priority of recruitment will have changed.

Newcastle do look close to signing both Lloyd Kelly and Tosin Adarabioyo on free transfers which should cover those absences leaving the budget free for Eddie Howe to pursue other targets for other positions, which may well include another attempt for 24-year-old Ederson.

We expect that the Magpies are going to be very busy this summer with players coming and going and we are also holding on to see who brings us the most ridiculous transfer rumour. Anthony Gordon to Liverpool is the current leader, but there's plenty of time for that to change.