Newcastle United suffer double transfer blow as Chelsea close in on £30m duo after rejected bid

Chelsea are closing in on the signing of 18-year-old Santos forward Angelo Gabriel with the youngster set to sign a six-year deal at Stamford Bridge. Santos accepted a £13million offer from Chelsea, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Blues are also negotiating a £17million deal for Matheus Franca from Flamengo with the Brazilian club wanting closer to £21million for the 19-year-old.

Both players have been on Newcastle’s radar with head of recruitment Steve Nickson flying to Brazil to assess Angelo in person. The Magpies also reportedly had a £14million offer for Franca rejected by Flamengo in January.

Franca scored three goals in 27 appearances for Flamengo during the 2022-23 campaign while Angelo scored twice in 32 appearances for Santos.

Angelo made headlines back in 2021 when he became the youngest ever goalscorer in Copa Libertadores history at just 16-years-old. Despite his tender age, he has already played 129 times for Santos in all competitions – scoring five goals.

Chelsea have already beaten Newcastle to the signing of one young Brazilian this year with Vasco de Gama’s Andrey Santos scouted by The Magpies before joining The Blues in January. Now they look likely to beat them to two more.

This comes after Newcastle expanded its global recruitment network last season by appointing scouts specialising in South American football as well as other areas across the world.

Athletico Paranaense striker Vitor Roque has also been on the club’s radar but looks set to join Barcelona from January 2024.

The Magpies are hoping to build on the recent success they have had with Brazilian internationals Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton by recruiting some of the country’s emerging talents for relatively low transfer fees.

Newcastle have made two signings so far this transfer window with Yankuba Minteh joining from Odense for a reported £7million and Sandro Tonali completing an Italian record transfer from AC Milan for an initial £52million plus add-ons.

Tonali is due on Tyneside on Wednesday afternoon to visit St James’ Park, the club’s Darsley Park training ground and complete his media duties.