Newcastle United first summer transfer exit has been lined up - another likely to follow after £33m blueprint
Newcastle United are set to sign 18-year-old winger Antonio Cordero on a free transfer this summer.
Cordero’s contract at Spanish second-tier side Malaga is set to expire in the summer and Newcastle are understood to have agreed a deal to sign him ahead of the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano wrote on X: “Newcastle have completed deal to sign Spanish 18-year-old talent Antonio Cordero from Malaga, here we go! Announcement set to take place for Cordero to join #NUFC project. Barça and Real Madrid were both keen on signing Cordero; he picked Newcastle.”
Cordero has scored five goals and assisted six for Malaga in 18 starts this season. Although he’s set to join Newcastle in the summer, The Magpies are already looking at the next step for the youngster.
Newcastle United summer loan exit expected for Antonio Cordero
The signing of Cordero looks set to follow in the footsteps of Yankuba Minteh before him. Minteh joined Newcastle from Odense in the summer of 2023 before being quickly loaned out to Feyenoord for the 2023-24 season.
The winger’s impressive season in the Dutch Eredivisie meant Newcastle were able to sell him to Brighton & Hove Albion for £33million last summer without him playing a game for the club.
And Newcastle are looking at the Netherlands as a potential loan destination for Cordero next season with the club’s head of strategic technical football partnerships, Jack Ross, tasked with finding a suitable loan club.
According to Spanish outlet AS, Dutch giants Ajax are interested in signing Cordero on loan for the 2025-26 campaign.
Another loan exit from Newcastle United likely
Newcastle will also implement a similar strategy with incoming teenage signing Vakhtang Salia, who is set to join the club from Dinamo Tbilisi once he turns 18 in August.
Salia, whose upcoming arrival has already officially been confirmed by Newcastle, will likely leave on loan to a European club next season to continue his development.
What Jason Tindall and Paul Mitchell have said about youth transfer strategy
Asked about the signing of Cordero earlier this week, Tindall said: “I know the club is scouring Europe to try and find some of the best talent that's out there and I'm sure as soon as we have any more updates or news on that then you guys will be the first to hear about it.”
Paul Mitchell, meanwhile, is about to oversee his first summer transfer window as the club’s sporting director. Despite being in the role for less than a year, Mitchell has already helped the Magpies secure the signature of young Georgian striker Vakhtang Salia, with Cordero’s signing another step in his vision for the club, one he describes as ‘essential’.
“Scouting and recruiting emerging talent is an essential part of building a sustainable future,” Mitchell said earlier this year, “particularly within the current PSR framework, so the market is fiercely competitive.
“We continue to scout extensively, both domestically and overseas, with a view to securing players who can come through our talent pathway and, ideally, become part of the first team in future.”