Newcastle Target Aleksandar Mitrovic Says Bye To Teammates As He Prepares To Fly To Tyneside

Newcastle United are closing in on their second major transfer dealing of the summer - with Aleksandar Mitrovic set to fly into Tyneside after saying goodbye to his Anderlecht teammates. Journalist Niels Vleminckx of Belgian paper HLN tweeted on Saturday that Mitrovic had said his farewells to the Anderlecht squad and that he will have his medical at Newcastle "soon" after the Magpies had a £12.3 million bid accepted for the striker. Interestingly, Vleminckx remains adamant that Mitrovic's Anderlecht teammate Chancel Mbemba is high on Newcastle's defensive priority list, with the Magpies believed to be contemplating launching a second bid in the next few days after this first was rebuffed, WhatCulture.com/NUFC understands. https://twitter.com/NielsVleminckx/status/622342529967595520 https://twitter.com/NielsVleminckx/status/622344385796116480 On Saturday, the Belgian journalist tweeted:

"BREAKING: #Mitrovic has said goodbye to Anderlecht. He will be having his medical at Newcastle soon. "Also #Mbemba is top priority for #Newcastle. They already mace a bid. Very good defender."

Although Porto attempted to hijack the deal with a bid bankrolled by investment firm Doyen Sports, it appears Newcastle€™s £12.3 million offer was already too far down the line for it to have made a difference. In fact, The Chronicle claim that reports in Belgium suggest United want Mitrovic to fly out to America before the completion of their pre-season tour of the States. The deal for Mitrovic is said to include a five per cent sell-on fee that Anderlecht would receive in the future, while the 20-year-old€™s first club Partizan Belgrade are set to pocket roughly £4.6 million of the money Newcastle have splurged on the Serbian international. WhatCulture.com/NUFC understands that Newcastle€™s deal for Mitrovic was extremely close to completion before Porto came up with an 11th hour bid of £14 million (‚20 million) on Friday €“ and that was largely being funded by investment group Doyen Sports €“ but Anderlecht have decided the Magpies€™ offer is the most likely to be completed imminently as the Portuguese side struggle to cobble together the cash quickly enough.

Although Mitrovic is their primary striking target, Newcastle also have other irons in the fire €“ with the club still very much interested in Queens Park Rangers€™ Charlie Austin, for who they have made a £13 million bid, and Wolfsburg€™s Bas Dost €“ who they want to move on to swiftly, which is why they have demanded an answer from the Serbia international. Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Swansea City are just three of the other clubs to have also been linked to Mitrovic, along with Roma. Mitrovic has netted 44 goals in 90 matches for Anderlecht, and has a career total of 69 strikes from 158 games. A powerful and relatively-quick forward, Mitrovic has an eye for goal and he grabbed headlines when he scored Anderlecht€™s equaliser at the Emirates Stadium last November when the Belgian side came from three goals down to draw 3-3 against Arsenal in a Champions League group-stage match. Anderlecht paid Partizan Belgrade a club-record £4 million for the 11-cap Serbia international, who started his career at Teleoptik, back in August 2013 and he has gone on to become one of Europe€™s most sought-after forwards. In 2014-15 Mitrovic bagged 28 goals in 51 matches, including 20 in 37 Belgian Pro League appearances and three in the Champions League. For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow whatculture.com/NUFC on Twitter and Facebook.