Newcastle United expect to complete the £51.4m signing of Lille forward Matias Fernandez-Pardo within the next 24 hours after agreeing a fee with the French club.
The 21-year-old Belgium international is scheduled to arrive on Tyneside on Monday evening to finalise his move. Senior staff at the Premier League club are currently formalising the final details of the transfer.
Fernandez-Pardo is set to become Newcastle's eighth signing of the summer transfer window. The deal will take Newcastle's total transfer spending for the summer to £270m, offset by £245m generated from player sales. Newcastle United, based in North East England, play their home matches at St James' Park.
The attacker was identified as Newcastle's top target to replace Anthony Gordon towards the end of last season, an interest first revealed by Daily Mail Sport's Newcastle Confidential on May 21.
Fernandez-Pardo, who went to the World Cup with Belgium, later communicated that he wanted Champions League football. However, that stance has changed in recent weeks, allowing Newcastle to push ahead with their move. Lille compete in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football.
New head coach Matthias Jaissle views Fernandez-Pardo as a versatile option who can operate in any of the four attacking positions used in his tactical system, including the No 10 role.
Woltemade loan talks with Juventus
The arrival of Fernandez-Pardo is expected to pave the way for the departure of Nick Woltemade. Juventus are in talks over a loan move for Newcastle's £69m club-record signing, with negotiations heading in a positive direction.
The proposed loan to Juventus, the Italian Serie A club based in Turin, includes a £3.5m fee with bonuses but no obligation to buy. Juventus turned to Woltemade after being informed by Manchester United that their preferred target, Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee, would only be allowed to leave on a deal with an obligation to buy. Woltemade is keen to complete the move.
Squad moves for Willock and Murphy
Elsewhere in the squad, midfielder Joe Willock could be rewarded with a 12-month contract extension should he stay at the club. Meanwhile, winger Jacob Murphy is wanted by fellow Premier League side Nottingham Forest.
However, Jaissle wants to retain the experienced winger due to his influential presence inside a young Newcastle dressing room.
