NEWCASTLE UNITED are closing in on a deadline day double that could be worth more than £27m in the summer – and there is still the prospect of an extra addition.
Atlanta United’s playmaker Miguel Almiron and Monaco’s full-back Antonio Barreca have both travelled to Tyneside to complete medicals.
And, despite playing for Benfica on Tuesday night, Greek midfielder Andreas Samaris is still in Newcastle’s sights and they will make another attempt to strike a deal for him before the 11pm Thursday deadline.
Plenty of work still needs to be done for Samaris to head to Tyneside, but the other two have progressed far quicker and the pair should provide a huge boost to manager Rafa Benitez.
Almiron is the one that is exciting supporters the most because he will smash the club’s long-standing record for a transfer fee paid out. He has plenty of pace and loves to take on his markers.
The 24-year-old is set to complete a £20m move from Atlanta, who he helped to MLS glory at the back of last year by scoring 13 times. His arrival will surpass the £16m that Newcastle paid to Real Madrid for Michael Owen in 2005.
Napoli had also made a late move for Almiron but they have been told that his prerogative is to get the deal with Newcastle over the line.
It is understood that Newcastle have agreed to pay him around £60,000-a-week and once completed will end a long pursuit.
A deal for Barreca has been far easier to conclude. He was one of Benitez’s left-back options in the market and he stepped up his interest in him after a deal for Lazio’s Jordan Lukaku fell through last Friday.
The 23-year-old can play anywhere down the left hand side and will provide competition for Paul Dummett. It could take a few weeks for Barreca to get up to speed, though, because he has not played for three months.
The Italian, highly-rated in his homeland, has only played seven times for Monaco this season and has been allowed to leave, even though the man who was looking to sell him, Thierry Henry, has been sacked.
Newcastle have agreed to pay a loan fee of £870,000 and if they make the deal permanent in the summer then a buy-out fee of £7.85m has already been agreed.
The Turin-born defender started his career with Torino and then moved to Monaco last summer but struggled to force his way into Henry’s starting line-up. Now he is looking forward to a new challenge in the Premier League and it should be finalised before the deadline.