Sky Sports: Newcastle set for £22m battle with Bayern, Barcelona & Real Madrid

The January transfer window is fast approaching and it will be interesting to see how the club navigate upcoming windows now that new sporting director Ross Wilson is in place.

The former Nottingham Forest chief helped oversee deals for Elliot Anderson at the City Ground and Virgil Van Dijk at Southampton, and it was revealed by The Mail's Craig Hope yesterday that Wilson is determined to bring in top European talents to Tyneside.

On that note, we covered Newcastle's interest in Kees Smit on Thursday afternoon, as Hope named the 19-year-old talent as an emerging target for the club's recruitment team heading into 2026.

Building on that, Sky Sports' Keith Downie has confirmed that Newcastle are very much keen on the AZ Alkmaar midfielder, although we will face competition from Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid.

Regarding price, Downie adds that the Eredivisie side are set to demand a fee in excess off £22m for the Dutch Under-21 international.

AZ will not stand in the player's way should a club record offer arrive and Smit is keen to test himself at a higher level, offering Newcastle encouragement if we can fed off interest from some of Europe's elite with the offer of Premier League football.

Newcastle see the technical midfielder as a player with a 'very high ceiling', reports Downie, buying into the idea that Wilson will push the club to target European gems who can reach their potential on Tyneside with help from Eddie Howe.

🚨 AZ Alkmaar will not stand in the way of selling midfielder Kees Smit — but will be looking for a record transfer fee in excess of £22m. ✔️ Newcastle are interested in the 19-year-old — but they face stiff competition from European giants like Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern… pic.twitter.com/9a28Qj7mhZ

— Keith Downie (@SkySports_Keith) November 14, 2025