Three week tomorrow, the January transfer window will open, allowing clubs to strengthen their squads for the second half of the 2025/26 s...
Three week tomorrow, the January transfer window will open, allowing clubs to strengthen their squads for the second half of the 2025/26 season and beyond.
It was recently reported that Newcastle have an eye on full-back cover, midfielders, a goalkeeper and could also bring in a young forward should Will Osula depart.
And this week, a significant update on one of those departments has arrived from Craig Hope, who has revealed Newcastle’s plans to make a “big play” for AZ Alkmaar’s Kees Smit.
Speaking to fans at a Q&A event for Mail Sport, the North East reporter reveals that Newcastle will push to sign the 19-year-old in January, with a bid in the region of £25-30m in the offing.
With so many of Europe’s elite sides tracking the Dutchman, he has been tipped to land a mega move to Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich.
However, Hope reveals that Newcastle will pitch the move as a huge opportunity to develop his game under Eddie Howe and follow in the footsteps of Lewis Hall, Tino Livramento and Anthony Gordon; three young talents who have taken their game to the next level on Tyneside and become fully fledged internationals:
“In terms of January, it’s hard to go out and get a real big ticket signing, just because it is in January, but also because there’s no actual obvious gaps within the starting 11. So they’ve got to look almost below that. And I’ll tell you a couple of names.
“So Kees Smit, the AZ Alkmaar midfielder, 19 year-old, they’re really, really sweet on him. They’re gonna make a big play to get him. I’m told it’ll be around 25 to 30 million pounds.
“Now, Kees Smit is a player who’s ultimate end game is probably to go to Real Madrid. What Newcastle are selling him is ‘you don’t go to Real Madrid as a 19 year old’, because Real Madrid buy Real Madrid-ready players. You come to us, and we can give you that exposure. Top-class coaches, we can train every day under Eddie Howe, Jason Tindall, Stephen Purches.
“Look at what we’ve done to Anthony Gordon, Dan Burn, Tino Livramento, Lewis Hall. We’ve turned them all into full nationals. You come here, and we can do that for you. That is Newcastle’s selling card now.
“Now, fans might not let you hear it. You’re sold as a building block, but you get the move to Real Madrid, 3-5 years down the line, but we will turn you into that player. That’s why they believe they’ve got a chance.”
That sales pitch could tempt a player who must prioritise development, top class coaching and the right environment to thrive over a huge move that sees him drowned out in a squad full of superstars.
However, with the level of interest he’s’ receiving heading into 2026, two things remain unclear. 1) Will Smit be convinced by the Newcastle project enough to reject European giants? And 2) are AZ Alkmaar willing to strike a January deal while they compete in Europe and the Eredivisie, or would they prefer to keep him for now and wait for a bidding war to take place next summer?
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