‘Been conversations’ - Joelinton has already made his intentions clear on Newcastle United future amid contact claims

Newcastle United star Joelinton is edging closer to signing a new long-term contract with the club after months of uncertainty surrounding his future on Tyneside.

The Brazilian arrived in the North East from Hoffenheim in 2019 for a then club-record fee of £40m. At the time the forward turned midfielder signed a six-year contract which is due to expire in the summer of 2025.

After initially struggling to impress as a number nine during the Steve Bruce regime, Joelinton established himself as one of the club’s most important players as a box to box midfielder under Eddie Howe. The 27-year-old played a pivotal role in Newcastle’s successful fourth place finish last season and has been a huge miss for the second half of this campaign due to injury.

In terms of market value, Joelinton’s performances have made one of the team’s prize assets. He now has a total of five caps for Brazil, but manager Eddie Howe reluctantly admitted in an earlier interview that there was a ‘possibility’ that the player would be sold if a new deal wasn’t agreed by the summer transfer window.

The Newcastle boss has always been vocal about his determination to keep Joelinton at St James’ Park and it appears progress has now been made on a new four-year deal with Fabrizio Romano posting on social media: “Negotiations between Joelinton and Newcastle over new deal are progressing well to the final stages. The agreement is close, as @LukeEdwardsTele has reported — now considered matter of final details and then set to be signed. Joelinton, prepared to stay.”

This news will come as a relief to the St James’ Park faithful due to Joelinton’s increasing popularity with the fans, and while many feared that he would depart in the summer, the midfielder himself made his intentions clear in an earlier interview back in December.

“Yes, of course I want to stay,” Joelinton told The Times. “I feel at home here. My family feels at home, my son has friends here. I love the city. There have been talks. There’s nothing close yet but there’s been conversation and it’s a good start.”

Howe also said: “That’s always been in my mind as an absolute priority to try and get him to stay at the club long-term. I see that as hugely important. We’re still trying from the club’s side. We’re desperate to keep him, we know his qualities and what he brings, but I don’t think there has been a major update or any major change to the situation.

"I don’t know if we’re looking to make a statement, we’re just looking to try and keep a very good player at the football club for everyone’s benefit. He always plays with a massive heart, commitment so we’d love to keep him long-term. I feel I have a very good relationship with him, I feel we’ve built up a trust between us. Personally, I’d love to see that."

Joelinton has scored three goals and provided one assist in his 20 appearances in all competitions this season. He has been a huge miss for the team since sustaining a thigh injury at the start of January and has not featured in the league since a 4-2 loss to Liverpool on New Year’s Day.

The powerful box-to-box midfielder will hope to return to the first team set up before the end of the season and will be vying for a place in Brazil’s Copa America squad this summer, alongside midfield partner Bruno Guimaraes, who penned a new deal until 2028 back in October.