'Also told' - Craig Hope reveals the next NUFC signing 'expected' after Bruno - on one condition

Craig Hope has revealed that Mitchel Bakker is ‘expected’ to sign for Newcastle United, providing that Bayer Leverkusen can bring in a replacement for him.

To avoid doubt this time, Bruno Guimaraes now looks certain to move to St. James’ Park, in what will be their third new signing of the January transfer window after the arrivals of Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood from Atletico Madrid and Burnley respectively.

Now, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium can focus on bringing in defensive targets, with just a few more days left until the deadline.

The Magpies have conceded an enormous 43 goals in 21 top flight games this season, so it would feel disappointing not to add more reinforcements at the back before Monday’s deadline.

As per The Daily Mail journalist Hope, there is still hope that they can sign Bakker:

“Also told still hope of signing Leverkusen left-back Mitchel Bakker.”

He continued: “If Leverkusen can get a replacement sorted then it’s expected Bakker to NUFC for around £16m will go through.”

These are exciting times for the Toon Army, as they seem to be strengthening in all areas of the pitch.

The great thing about Bakker is that he is versatile, and so can play as a central defender as well as his main position at left-back, and so the North East club could potentially kill two birds with one stone.

Dubbed someone who has ‘pace and strength’ in addition to ‘footballing ability’ by Leverkusen sporting director Rudi Voller (via The Chronicle), he has all of the qualities needed for a modern day defender, and at 21 years of age, he still has so much potential to grow further.

Nonetheless, the Tyneside outfit now look to be building a real core set of quality players who will help them both in their