Newcastle negotiations to sign Premier League defender as free agent 'really advanced', claims Fabrizio Romano

The Magpies have gone through a difficult campaign with a lot of key players suffering injuries which cost them in their pursuit of the season’s objectives.

One of the areas which was affected immensely because of the injury crisis was the defensive unit and it was because of this reason, the Toon Army have been linked with a number of centre-backs as they prepare for the 2024-25 season.

One of the names Newcastle have been heavily linked with is Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly, who is set to become a free agent in the summer as his current contract is ending.

According to transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano, the Magpies are set to conclude the deal soon as the negotiations are already in a ‘really advanced’ phase.

"They [Newcastle] are working on smart signings because as we already said on the podcast in the last episode, Lloyd Kelly from Bournemouth [is the] top target,” said Romano while talking in The Here We Go Podcast as quoted by Givemesport.

"Newcastle are really confident to make it happen. Kelly and Newcastle, the expectation is for the deal to advance really fast in the next weeks and then they are still working on Tosin Adarabioyo.

"Chelsea also called for him, Man Utd are also informed of the situation, but Newcastle in this case, are really pushing.

"Eddie Howe appreciates the player and so Newcastle could sign two centre-backs on a free transfer. From what I'm hearing, Kelly is really, really advanced and for Tosin Adarabioyo negotiations are still ongoing."

The Bristol-born defender has been a Bournemouth player since July 2019 when he moved from the Championship outfit Bristol City in a deal worth €14.8 million.

Since then, the former England U21 international has represented his current club in 139 matches across all competitions where he scored three goals and provided eight assists.

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