Newcastle United have agreed a deal with Manchester City to sign midfielder Nico Gonzalez, according to multiple reports.
Per David Ornstein of The Athletic, the two Premier League rivals have come to terms on a deal that will see Newcastle pay an initial £48million, plus around £4m in add-ons.
Gonzalez has reportedly said goodbye to his City team-mates and is travelling to Tyneside for a medical.
The former Barcelona and Porto midfielder is set to become Newcastle’s seventh signing of an extremely eventful summer, which has seen Eddie Howe’s celebrated tenure as manager come to an end, with talismanic captain Bruno Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon also all leaving the club.
Newcastle fill key void with Gonzalez capture
Gonzalez’s arrival may be the most important of the transfer window for Newcastle, with the 24-year-old likely to become the leader of the midfield Guimaraes and Tonali vacated.
Newcastle have already signed two midfielders in 18-year-old Sean Steur and 20-year-old Aladji Bamba, while academy product Lewis Miley is a rising star who excelled in their thrilling season-opening 2-2 draw with Liverpool last Sunday.
But Gonzalez gives Newcastle a vastly more experienced defensive midfielder who can slot in immediately as their number six in new manager Matthias Jaissle’s system.
Gonzalez’s aptitude for retaining possession should make him a huge asset to Newcastle. Since the Spaniard made his Premier League debut for City in February last year, only former team-mate Rodri (87) has made more successful passes per 90 minutes in the division than Gonzalez (68), according to Opta.
After completing the deal for Gonzalez, Newcastle are expected to turn their attentions to trying to sign a forward player who can operate as a number 10 and play on the wings, with that need perhaps exacerbated by an injury to William Osula that is expected to keep the Dane out for a couple of weeks. Newcastle have been linked with a late window move for Lille’s Belgium international Matias Ferandez-Pardo.
Having allow Rodri, Tijjani Reijnders and Bernardo Silva to leave the club and with Gonzalez set to follow them in departing, City will now aim to complete their midfield revamp.
Can City get Enzo deal done?
City have added to their midfield with the signing of Elliot Anderson in a £116million deal from Nottingham Forest and are set to sign Ayyoub Bouaddi from Lille £81.3m plus £4.3m in add-ons.
The desired final piece of the puzzle for City in reshaping their midfield is Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez.
Chelsea had set a deadline of last Friday for City to sign the Argentina international. However, they are still said to be open to a sale if they get at least £120million and are able to sign a replacement.
The Fernandez saga will likely dominate the final days of the window as former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca aims to take him to the Etihad Stadium.
Fernandez was a 65th-minute substitute on Monday as Chelsea claimed a 3-2 win over west London rivals Fulham in their first game under Xabi Alonso.
City take on Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Friday, while Newcastle face West Brom in the EFL Cup on Wednesday before a reunion with Tonali on Saturday as they visit Tottenham.
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