Newcastle United have reportedly agreed to sign Everton attacker Anthony Gordon in a deal that could reach up to £45m.
The 21-year-old's future has been the subject of much speculation in recent weeks, with both Chelsea and Newcastle battling to prise him away from Goodison Park.
The Blues tried and failed to strike a deal for Gordon in the summer window, having been informed by the Toffees that it would take £60m for them to consider a sale.
Graham Potter's side were tipped to reignite their interest this month, but they instead pursued alternative targets in Joao Felix, David Datro Fofana and Mykhaylo Mudryk.
As a result, Newcastle jumped to the head of the queue for Gordon's signature, with the England Under-21 international widely expected to leave the relegation-threatened Toffees.
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According to Sky Sports News, Newcastle and Everton have now shaken hands on a deal worth an initial £40m, which could rise to as much as £45m with add-ons.
Gordon has hit the headlines amid his transfer saga after failing to show up for training three days in a row between Tuesday and Thursday, although his absence on the former day was supposedly planned.
However, the attacker was not granted permission to miss training on Wednesday or Thursday, but he showed up on Friday, with Everton sources claiming that he trained as normal.
On the other hand, the report adds that Gordon did not in fact train with the team on Friday, having told Everton bosses that he did not want to play for the club again and was determined to leave in January.
The deal to offload Gordon to Newcastle supposedly includes a sell-on clause for Everton, although the Englishman is yet to agree personal terms with Eddie Howe's side.
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There are not expected to be any further roadblocks in the deal, though, as Gordon prepares to leave Everton 13 years after joining from Liverpool's academy.
Since graduating from the Toffees' youth setup, Gordon has amassed seven goals and eight assists in 78 games for the club, but he only has three goals from 18 outings in the current season.
The 21-year-old was an unused substitute in last weekend's 2-0 defeat to West Ham United, which left Everton 19th in the Premier League table and cost Frank Lampard his job.
Gordon will become Newcastle's second permanent signing of the January transfer window after Garang Kuol, and he will compete with the likes of Allan Saint-Maximin, Miguel Almiron, Joelinton, Callum Wilson, Alexander Isak, Jacob Murphy and Ryan Fraser for starts in the final third.
Earlier on Friday, the Magpies also confirmed that right-back Kieran Trippier had signed a one-year contract extension, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2025.
Ben Knapton
