Newcastle United are close to their first signing of the window after Nabil Bentaleb passed his medical overnight.
The 25-year old former Tottenham midfielder will join from Schalke on loan with view to making the deal permanent for around £8.5million in the summer.
Newcastle boss Steve Bruce is also hoping to add three more players though a deal for Inter Milan’s Valentino Lazaro is threatened by Red Bull Leipzig’s interest.
Lazaro’s agent held talks with the Bundesliga club’s representatives on Monday evening.
His agent, Max Hagmayr, told FCInter1908.it: 'I was in Newcastle and we had talks, but there is no agreement yet.
'As for the future, we'll see what happens over the next few days. There isn't just Newcastle, he has other options.'
