New João Pedro bid confirmed: Player wants move & Watford name their price - Fabrizio Romano

Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Newcastle United have launched a new improved bid for Watford forward João Pedro.

In an exclusive released on Thursday tea-time, he reports that our second bid is worth an initial £22m plus £3m in add-ons.

Romano adds that talks are ongoing, with Watford currently asking for a total of £30m for the highly-rated Brazilian - meaning our latest bid may fall just short of their demands.

Crucially, he claims that the 20-year-old is 'keen on the move' to St James' Park, revealing that he is eager to play in the Premier League again after suffering relegation just a few months ago.

So, it seems we are edging closer to the Hornets' asking price, with the player's interest in signing also giving us some leverage in talks.

It's also quite telling that Watford have gone from "not for sale" to making his price tag public, suggesting there is very much a deal to be done here.