Report now claims Newcastle United are in pole position to sign £60m striker ahead of Premier League rival

A centre back, a right winger, a centre forward and a goalkeeper - that's the mantra this summer for Newcastle United fans when asked what is needed ahead of next season.

Whether we get all of those positions covered, only time (and PSR) will tell, but as things stand, Newcastle seem to be miles off anything.

It is clear now that the Magpies are waiting until next week to begin their transfer business, ensuring that all of our summer deals go into the new PSR reporting cycle.

There has been movement in the pursuit of James Trafford, according to reports, and now iNews are claiming that Newcastle are ahead of Supermarket Sweep shoppers, Chelsea in the hunt for João Pedro.

Newcastle lead Chelsea in the race for João Pedro

Chelsea have already beaten Newcastle to the signing of Liam Delap, and it is believed that the Blues also want to hijack Newcastle's bid for Brighton forward João Pedro.

However, iNews believe that Newcastle are 'in the ascendency' on that one, but the issue is that Newcastle are refusing to meet Brighton's £60 million valuation.

It honestly feels as though Newcastle United would enter Poundland and haggle over the price at this point. It doesn't matter what price they are quoted for a player, no matter how reasonable it is, they will always haggle first. Which is fine, to a degree, but so often it leads to breakdowns in talks and the player going elsewhere.

Newcastle need to learn that sometimes the price is the price

We're not saying we believe João Pedro is worth £60 million, we do agree that's high for a player who could start a fight in an empty room, but that's the fee that Brighton believe he's worth to them, and it's not unrealistic.

We have no problem with Newcastle trying to shave some money off the cost, but with Chelsea sniffing around who would pay £120 million for João Pedro if they were asked to, we can't afford to push our luck for too long if we truly want the Brazilian on Tyneside.

Again, though, we say this with absolutely zero knowledge of how transfers work; we're just speaking as frustrated fans hoping for some positive transfer news.