Newcastle's £120m blow! Magpies fail with three mega-money moves as bids for Anthony Elanga, Joao Pedro and James Trafford all rejected

According to The Times, the Tyneside club submitted a £25m ($34.36m) offer for Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford over the weekend, but the Clarets were unmoved. Burnley are said to value the 22-year-old at over £30m ($41m) and are holding out for a figure closer to their valuation before considering letting him go. Trafford, who managed an impressive 29 clean sheets in the Championship last season, has long been on Newcastle’s radar and nearly joined the club last summer, only for the deal to collapse due to the Magpies' troubles adhering to Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

Newcastle’s pursuit of attacking reinforcements also suffered a blow as Brighton rejected a £50m ($69m) bid for Brazilian forward Pedro earlier this week. The club previously attempted to sign him from Watford three years ago but eventually opted for Alexander Isak instead. With Champions League football on the horizon, Eddie Howe is eager to add attacking options capable of competing on multiple fronts, and Pedro fits that profile perfectly.

The third and final piece of the failed transfer puzzle involves Nottingham Forest’s Sweden international Elanga. Newcastle tabled a £45m ($62m) proposal for the winger, but Forest quickly turned it down. Whether the Magpies return with an improved bid for Elanga remains to be seen, but it is clear that the player is high on their wish-list.

Newcastle’s inability to close big-name signings across the last three transfer windows stems largely from concerns around breaching PSR guidelines. In a bid to stay compliant, the club had to sanction the sales of Elliot Anderson to Nottingham Forest and Yankuba Minteh to Brighton last June, which brought in a combined £70m ($96m) and helped avert a possible ten-point deduction.

With time still left in the transfer window, Newcastle are expected to return to the table for at least one of their primary targets. They are reportedly planning to return with an improved offer for Trafford, as he remains their top goalkeeping target. The Englishman, widely viewed as a potential future No.1 for the national team, is believed to be open to a move to St James’ Park.