Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle United are tracking AZ Alkmaar midfielder Kees Smit ahead of the summer transfer window.
The 20-year-old has delivered four goals and seven assists in 39 appearances this season and recently earned his first senior Netherlands call-up with the World Cup around the corner.
Smit’s rise has attracted attention from several Premier League and European clubs, but Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke is reporting that Newcastle may struggle to compete for his signing if they
fail to qualify for the Champions League—as is likely after the Tyne-Wear derby defeat.
“Kees Smit is more likely to join either Liverpool or Arsenal than Newcastle United in the summer transfer window,” O’Rourke said. “Smit is destined to join a team playing in the Champions League if he leaves Alkmaar in the upcoming summer window.”
The Reds and the Gunners are near locks to clinch either Champions League or Europa League-bound places, while Newcastle sit 12th with seven matches remaining and a long-odds shot at making it to the Conference League, if anything.
“The Magpies’ likely lack of Champions League football next season is set to rule them out of the race for Smit,” O’Rourke said. “Newcastle obviously, if they’re not able to offer Champions League football to potential transfer targets like Smit, it will harm their chances of signing him.”
O’Rourke also pointed to the wider competition Newcastle face, as the suitors for the Dutch prodigy won’t come exclusively from England.
“Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool and Arsenal are all being mentioned as potential destinations for Smit,” O’Rourke said. “I think it’ll be difficult for Newcastle to try and land a player like Smit in the summer.”
