Newcastle United ‘pushing’ to land “impressive” Dutch wonderkid who plays like Pedri

AZ Alkmaar's Kees Smit in action with Crystal Palace's Tyrick Mitchell. (REUTERS/Tony O Brien)

Newcastle United’s season has been a tale of two campaigns.

In the Champions League, Eddie Howe’s side have been electric — three wins from four and firmly on course to reach the knockout stages.

Domestically, however, things have been far less convincing. The Magpies sit 14th in the Premier League, with just three victories from their opening 11 matches.

Balancing European intensity with league form has proved difficult, not helped by injuries up front — even if Alexanader Isak’s replacement Nick Woltemade has hit the ground running.

With January approaching, Howe and Newcastle’s recruitment team are already working on ways to strengthen — and one of Europe’s brightest prospects is firmly on their radar.

According to Craig Hope of The Mail, Newcastle are stepping up their efforts to sign highly rated Dutch midfielder Kees Smit, with the club “pushing” to get a deal done ahead of fierce competition from across Europe.

The 19-year-old AZ Alkmaar midfielder is considered one of the most exciting talents in the Netherlands, regularly drawing stylistic comparisons to Barcelona star Pedri from Netherlands manager Ronald Koeman, who also described him as “impressive.”

It will come as no surprise, then, that Barca, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich have all scouted him.

Smit’s contract runs until 2028, but Hope reports that a fee in the region of £20 million could be enough to tempt AZ into selling. The youngster has already clocked up more than 50 senior appearances, including a recent showing in the Europa Conference League against Crystal Palace.

Newcastle’s sporting director Ross Wilson is keen for the club to secure elite young talent with huge developmental upside, and the promise of meaningful Premier League minutes under Eddie Howe could give the Magpies an advantage over their rivals.

It remains unclear whether the move would be pushed through in January or pursued in the summer, but with Joe Willock’s long-term role uncertain and Joelinton approaching 30, Howe may feel it’s the perfect moment to inject fresh youth and creativity into his midfield.

Barnaby Lane is a highly experienced sports writer who has written for The Times, FourFourTwo Magazine, Sports Illustrated, TalkSPORT, and Business Insider.

Over the years, he's had the pleasure of interviewing some of the biggest names in world sport, including Usain Bolt, Rafael Nadal, Christian Pulisic, and more.