Newcastle United concern as first summer transfer target emerges & £20m claim made - official statement issued
Newcastle United transfers: The Magpies face stiff competition for the signature of AIK winger Zadok Yohanna.
Newcastle United’s first major transfer target of the summer has emerged.
18-year-old Zadok Yohanna is a player under discussion at Newcastle prior to the transfer window opening on June 15.
The AIK winger has attracted interest from several other clubs, namely Brighton and Chelsea, with the former reportedly reaching a verbal agreement to sign the player. Sky Sport Germany have reported a deal between Yohanaa and Brighton is ‘100%’ agreed.
But with Brighton yet to agree on a fee with AIK, Newcastle have an opportunity to swoop in. Talks are understood to have taken place between the Magpies and AIK - the Swedish club where Alexander Isak started his career.
AIK have confirmed they are in negotiations regarding the sale of Yohanna in an official statement.
It read: “AIK Fotboll has initiated negotiations regarding the sale of player Zadok Yohanna. The current bid indicates a net profit higher than £20m. If and when an agreement has been reached, this will be communicated.”
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NUFC cautious in Yohanna approach
Newcastle have recently set up a scouting operation in Scandinavia, with Yohanna quickly identified as a top prospect. The Nigerian teenager has scored five goals in 18 appearances for AIK since joining the club in 2025.
Sources in Sweden have claimed Newcastle have submitted a £20.7million proposal to sign the right winger, but the deal is not quite that advanced.
Newcastle will be wary of the claims prompting a bidding war given the well-documented rival interest in the player and will not be used as a pawn to drive the fee up. But Yohanna is a player of interest and the club’s first concrete target to emerge this summer.
Club sources have indicated that a lot of work is going on behind the scenes and numerous players are being looked at daily. While there is a willingness and a drive to get deals done quickly, tangible progress has been limited.
Yankuba Minteh 2.0?
Interestingly, Newcastle’s interest in Yohanna draws comparisons with their signing of Yankuba Minteh from Odense back in 2023. Both players moved from West Africa to Scandinavia and play predominantly on the right wing.
Newcastle plucked Minteh from relative obscurity as a teenager before loaning him out to Feyenoord. Despite not making an appearance for the Magpies, Minteh was then sold on to Brighton for £33million, making the club a significant profit.
The deal helped Newcastle avoid PSR punishment back in 2024 alongside the sale of Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest. Although viewed as a necessity to avoid a points deduction, the sales of both Anderson and Minteh have aged fairly poorly in hindsight, with each player seeing their value increase significantly since leaving Newcastle.