Newcastle United are growing increasingly confident that they will manage to sign Jesse Lingard from Manchester United before next week’s deadline.
The Magpies’ battle against the drop was given a huge boost over the weekend, following their 1-0 victory away at Leeds United.
Eddie Howe’s side now sit in 18th place in the Premier League table, just one point behind Norwich City, having played a game fewer.
However, Newcastle hope to increase their survival chances further this week, by landing more of Howe’s assembled transfer targets.
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Thus far, Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood have arrived in deals worth £12milion and £25million respectively.
It is understood, Howe held crunch talks with Toon bosses on Sunday, with a clutch of players on their radar.
The Telegraph report that Lingard is one of several players that could arrive in the final days of the January transfer window.
Lingard is set to become a free agent at the end of the season, but there is renewed optimism that he could join on loan for the remainder of the campaign.
The report suggests that Newcastle are willing to pay a huge loan fee, in the region of £6m, as well as paying 100 per cent of his £80,000-per-week wages.
Howe’s squad have flown out to Saudi Arabia for a warm weather training camp, visiting the country for the first time since a consortium from the country purchased the club last year.
Lingard is currently in Dubai, with no Premier League fixtures for more than two weeks. Should Newcastle manage to get a deal over the line, there is a belief the England international could join the rest of the squad in the Middle East.
Along with Lingard, Tottenham outcast Dele Alli could also be signed, with his future under Antonio Conte looking decidedly muddled.
Alli was left out of Spurs’ travelling party for their game with Chelsea on Sunday, seemingly paving the way for him to leave the club.
Aaron Ramsey could be another player drafted in and St James’ bosses have reportedly already put feelers out to sign the Juventus star.
The Old Lady have made it clear that Ramsey is available to leave and after receiving a positive response from the player himself, a move could materialise quite quickly.
Newcastle’s 43 goals conceded is the second highest and Howe is also desperate to bring in another defender to help patch up their leaky back four.
Diego Carlos is the player most extensively linked, having already lodged a £30m offer for the Sevilla defender.
The two clubs remain locked in negotiations, with the LaLiga outfit willing to sell the Brazilian if their valuation is met.
There is believed to be another Premier League club in the race for Carlos, who played 90 minutes in Sevilla’s 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo on Saturday evening.
Should their pursuit of Carlos fail, they could reignite their interest in Burnley ’s James Tarkowski, although they have yet to table a bid for the 29-year-old.
