Newcastle United are close to signing Dutch striker Luuk de Jong, a report claims.
The Borussia Monchengladbach player has been linked with a move to Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, but The Mirror reports that they have pulled out of the race as they cannot afford the transfer fee, which could be as high as £8.5m.
Monchengladbach were keen on agreeing a player-plus-cash deal for Newcastle striker Papiss Cisse, but he is not interested in moving to the Bundesliga club.
Therefore, the Magpies will pay £7m and then more in add-ons, and could complete the deal in time for De Jong to play against Norwich City next Tuesday.
Monchengladbach's sporting director, Max Eberl, is quoted as saying to the newspaper: "Things tend to happen more towards the end of the transfer window, and we're moving into that now."
De Jong joined the club in 2012.
Gary Peters
