Newcastle agree Martin Dubravka loan as Freddie Woodman prepares to join Aberdeen
KEY POINTS
- Slovakian goalkeeper is due on Tyneside for a medical after Newcastle settled on a deal with Sparta Prague.
- Dubravka's arrival will allow England Under-20 World Cup winner Woodman to seal a move to Scotland.
- Reports suggest that Rolando Aarons has rejected Hull in favour of Verona, while Jack Colback is in talks with Nottingham Forest.
Keep track of all the confirmed deals with our LIVE transfer deadline day blog.
Newcastle United's hectic transfer deadline day continues, with the latest reports suggesting that the club have finally reached an agreement with Czech giants Sparta Prague for goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.
Sky Sports understands that the Slovakian international will undergo a medical on Tyneside on Wednesday afternoon (31 January) ahead of a loan deal that is set to last until the end of the season.
Sparta Prague have confirmed that Dubravka has indeed left their training camp in order to discuss a possible move to the Premier League, although they decline to mention any English club by name.
Rafael Benitez has been eager to source a new goalkeeper to provide competition for Karl Darlow and Rob Elliot and allow promising England Under-20 World Cup winner Freddie Woodman to head out on loan.
According to the Daily Record, Aberdeen are poised to beat Scottish Premiership rivals Celtic to the signing of the highly-rated Woodman, who is expected to put pen to paper on a six-month contract later this evening.
Newcastle were already believed to have settled on one pre-deadline loan deal, with Leicester City's Islam Slimani emerging as a priority striker target after the Magpies refused to meet Feyenoord's demands for Nicolai Jorgensen and were pipped by West Bromwich Albion in the race for Liverpool outcast Daniel Sturridge.
Slimani and Dubravka are widely expected to be the only arrivals at St James' Park today despite links to the likes of versatile Real Madrid defender Marcos Llorente, taking Newcastle's tally of January loanees to three following Brazilian winger Kenedy's switch from Chelsea.
However, several more departures are likely with Sky also reporting that midfielder Rolando Aarons has rejected Championship strugglers Hull City in favour of a loan move to Serie A side Hellas Verona.
âš ï¸ðŸ‡ªðŸ‡¸âž¡ï¸ðŸ‡¬ðŸ‡§ Martin Dúbravka has left the training camp and is on the way to England now. Sparta will negotiate about a possible move to @premierleague. pic.twitter.com/JK4m0q5vmD
— AC Sparta Prague (@ACSparta_EN) January 31, 2018
Henri Saivet has negotiated a loan to Sivasspor that includes the option of a permanent summer transfer, while the Shields Gazette state that Jack Colback - who has been training with Newcastle's academy all season after being deemed as surplus to requirements by Benitez - is in talks with Aitor Karanka's Nottingham Forest.
With Slimani's arrival all but secured, little-used Aleksandar Mitrovic, who was pursued by Brighton & Hove Albion and a multitude of other clubs across Europe, is expected to reunite with former employers Anderlecht today as he seeks to gain more regular first-team opportunities in the build-up to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
