Newcastle are in talks with Watford for Joao Pedro and Ismaila Sarr (Image: GETTY)
Newcastle are in talks with Watford over a statement double deal for Joao Pedro and Ismaila Sarr, reports claim. Eddie Howe has emphasised the club's desire to bring in quality over quantity and now two Premier League-proven forwards are very much on his radar.
Newcastle are in talks over signing the Watford attacking duo (Image: GETTY)
The money is definitely there to be spent after Newcastle made an offer of up to £50m for Leicester star James Maddison.
Romano also adds that Aston Villa have made a formal bid to sign Sarr - worth in the region of £21m.
That is not currently enough to strike an agreement, although it's now becoming increasingly clear that Sarr could move on before the September 1 deadline.
Both Watford stars missed the 0-0 draw at Preston due to injury but it appears their futures may now lie away from Vicarage Road.
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Pedro wants the move to Newcastle and he will patiently await a positive outcome in negotiations between the clubs.
Howe confirmed ahead of this weekend's clash with Manchester City that Newcastle were not currently looking to disrupt their wage structure.
It effectively rules the Magpies from signing any players that would be set to earn over £120,000 per week.
The former Bournemouth boss said: "It depends on the competition, we're looking at everything. If there's a player that we can attract that we can afford and all the other things that you need to fall into place, I want to sign the best player I can.
"But it needs to fit. Everything, those are the conditions that we've got and are proving quite difficult."
When quizzed on whether Newcastle will broaden their search for new recruits, Howe declared the Magpies are only working on signings from a small pool of players.
He added: "It's a small pool of players, but not through us not widening the search - it's because there's not a huge amount of players that will make our group better, and that's the confidence (we have) in the players we have. I think we've got a really good squad.
"Certainly, I'd love to add someone that can make us better, but that is very difficult. Our search has been high and wide and far-reaching, but I don't expect the pool of players that we have to pick from to change between now and the end of the window."