Newcastle close to signing Aston Villa’s Targett and want £20.8m striker Ekitike

Newcastle are close to signing the left-back Matt Targett on loan from Aston Villa and are pushing to buy the 19-year-old striker Hugo Ekitike from Reims.

Targett is due to have a medical after Villa, having brought in Lucas Digne from Everton, agreed to a deal. The 26-year-old, who can also play at left midfield, joined Villa from Southampton in 2019 and has started 17 Premier League games this season.

Newcastle have offered €25m (£20.8m) plus add-ons for Ekitike and discussions include a possible sell-on clause. The Saudi-owned club want to bring in the France Under-20 international on a five-year deal. He has scored eight goals in 18 Ligue 1 appearances this season.

Eddie Howe also had an interest in Eddie Nketiah but Arsenal have no intention of selling the forward. He could stay until the end of the season, even though his contract expires then.

Dan Burn is due to complete his £12.5mmove from Brighton to Newcastle, who have already signed Kieran Trippier, Chris Wood and Bruno Guimarães.