Player has ‘already reached agreement’ to join Newcastle – Magpies act quickly to seal summer signing

AFC Bournemouth’s Lloyd Kelly is set to join Newcastle United in the summer window, according to Foot Mercato.

The centre-back’s deal expires in June and he will leave Bournemouth as a free agent. This makes him an attractive option in the market and he’s being chased by a few clubs.

Foot Mercato, who make it clear this is their own information, state that the Bournemouth defender will be moving to Newcastle.

They state the 25-year-old has ‘already reached an agreement’ with the Magpies, without providing any further details of the deal.

Kelly joined Bournemouth in 2019 and played under Eddie Howe’s orders when the latter was in charge at the Vitality Stadium. A move to St James’ Park will see him reunite with his former manager.

Santi Aouna covered this report and he took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to add that the Magpies are ‘set to sign’ Kelly, and there’s a ‘verbal agreement’ in place between the parties. It remains to be seen whether this claim will be backed up by the English press.

Jamaal Lascelles, Fabian Schär and Sven Botman are currently on the sidelines. Lascelles, 30, and Schär, 32, have deals expiring in 2025, while the Dutchman will miss most of this year due to a serious knee injury.

This is one of the reasons the Tyneside club are keen on bolstering their defence in the next window, and Kelly can certainly be an attractive option.