Chelsea in £50m Joao Pedro bid claim after Newcastle rivalry with mystery club

It has been implied Chelsea are the previously unnamed club who saw a bid in excess of £50m for Brighton forward Joao Pedro rejected. So too have Newcastle United in what could rapidly evolve into a transfer rivalry.

football.london understands the Blues, whilst pleased Nicolas Jackson in spite of his latest misdemeanour and having recently acquired Liam Delap in a £30m deal, are on the lookout for another striker this summer.

So too is it known that Pedro is a player of interest amongst a number of other potential targets. The scorer of 30 goals in his two years on the south coast, the 23-year-old would be a particularly attractive option because of his versatility in a number of attacking roles.

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Contact had previously been established with the Seagulls over a potential summer deal.

Now in the latest development in this story, Ed Aarons at The Guardian has claimed Chelsea have made an opening bid for Pedro worth more than £50m, and it has swiftly been rejected.

He adds that Newcastle have seen a similar attempt rejected as well, following on from talkSPORT providing the same information this morning with the exception of Chelsea's name missing from their report, instead referring to 'one other Premier League club'.

Enzo Maresca's squad is stocked with talent though the attacking ranks have been depleted by the exit of Jadon Sancho and confirmation of Mykhailo Mudryk's FA charge.

Meanwhile at St. James' Park Pedro's signing is viewed as a top priority, with their options even thinner.

This is according to sister site Chronicle Live, who feel a sense of optimism from inside Newcastle that they will be able to get the deal done ahead of anyone else.

They say Brighton are open to selling, but only if their £60m price tag is met, whilst Pedro himself is open to the move to the north east.

So it is going to be a race across the line, Chelsea vs their Premier League rivals, to win the Brazilian's favour.