Newcastle ‘close’ to latest signing as January transfer deadline nears

Eddie Howe has revealed Newcastle United are “close” to making their third signing of the January transfer window but would not confirm whether or not Lyon midfielder Bruno Guimaraes is the player in question.

Howe said it would be “foolish” to name names despite reports that Newcastle have agreed a fee of up to £40million for the 24-year-old Brazil international, who could undergo a medical later on Friday.

“There’s nothing on individual players but we are hopeful we are getting close to completing a transfer,” Howe said. “You can guess (who it is) if you want but there’ll be no confirmation from me, I think that would be foolish of me.”

But Howe added that Newcastle would remain active in the transfer window, seeking further reinforcements in their fight against relegation, having already signed Kieran Trippier and Chris Wood this month.

“From my perspective I don’t imagine that would be the end of our interest in bringing new players in,” he said. “Whether that turns into reality, who knows? Things change very late in this window as everybody knows, it can be quite unpredictable in the last couple of days.

“We’re open. We’re working hard to improve the squad. Our biggest aim is to give the team the best chance of staying in the league.”

After the Saudi Arabian-backed takeover of the club was completed in October to leave Newcastle flush with cash, the Magpies have been linked with dozens of players.

But Howe said the reality of the January transfer window was much more frustrating, and admitted it was possible the club had been hit by a “Newcastle tax” when it came to the prices being quoted.

“There’s a combination of a lot of different things,” he said. “Clubs are not wanting to lose players during a difficult time