Eddie Howe admits Newcastle ‘close’ to third signing, plus more to come
Eddie Howe says Newcastle are moving closer to making their third signing of the January transfer window and hopes it will not end there.
Whilst saying it would be ‘foolish’ to confirm the player in question is Bruno Guimaraes, the Brazilian is expected to sign before Monday’s deadline. Newcastle and Lyon have reached an agreement over the signing of the Brazil, according to the Guardian.
The fee for the defensive midfielder will be €40m, plus €8m in add-ons. The 24-year-old is set to take a medical imminently.
Guimaraes was in the Brazil squad that drew with Ecuador on Thursday night. He was an unused substitute and will travel back to Brazil for a medical in the next 24 hours.
“We’re hopeful that we’re getting closer to completing a transfer for a player.
“We’ll try and give you that update as soon as we have it but, fingers crossed, we’re close to getting one over the line,” said Howe during a press conference from Newcastle’s warm-weather training camp in Saudi Arabia.
“From my perspective, I don’t imagine that would be the end. Whether that turns into reality, who knows.
“Things change very late in this window as everybody knows. It can be quite unpredictable in the last couple of days, with lots of things maybe happening that we didn’t expect.
“We’re open. We’re working hard to improve the squad. Our biggest aim is to give the team the best chance of staying in the league.”
Howe is also chasing a centre-back but has had no luck so far with Diego Carlos, Sven Botman and James Tarkowski. While, they also saw an £8m offer for Brighton’s Dan Burn rejected.
Man Utd midfielder Jesse Lingard is another target for Howe.
United have already rejected loan proposals from West Ham and Tottenham. Understandably, they do not wish to strengthen a top four rival.
Newcastle have thus emerged as the likeliest candidate to secure an agreement. However, United have reportedly insisted Newcastle agree to a £12m survival bonus if they stave off relegation.
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Howe happy with club’s vision
Combined with a loan fee and Newcastle paying 100 percent of Lingard’s wages, it would result in one of the most expensive loan deals of all time.
However, the Athletic’s David Ornstein predicts the Magpies may yet get a deal over the line.
Howe was speaking from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, where Newcastle have travelled on a warm-weather training camp which has included meetings with the club’s chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan and other representatives of the Public Investment Fund.
“I’ve spoken with the chairman. We met him and that was a great experience to hear his thoughts on the club and his vision and how the future looks,” Howe said.
“The players enjoyed that. I enjoyed that and a lot of people around the PIF team have been around here as well. So it was a very good experience to bring everybody closer together.”
READ MORE: Newcastle plot late double Prem raid as West Ham ‘discussions’ ramp up
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