Aladji Bamba undergoing Newcastle medical after arriving on private jet to finalise deal
Aladji Bamba is arriving at Newcastle for a medical after a £34million deal was agreed with Monaco, sources have told Football Insider.
The 20-year-old is a defensive midfielder and will sign a long-term contract with the Magpies.
Sources say a full agreement is in place and that Bamba jetted into Newcastle earlier on Thursday before heading to the club to finalise terms.
The France youth international became a regular for Monaco in the second half of the season, and has only made 25 appearances for the first team.
Newcastle are in need of central midfielders this summer, having already lost Sandro Tonali to Tottenham.
Arsenal's interest in club captain Bruno Guimaraes is also reportedly set to advance, and Joe Willock has been linked with a move away.
Bamba's arrival follows the signing of 18-year-old Sean Steur from Ajax, who arrived in a £23m deal earlier this month.
Aladji Bamba arrives on private jet to finalise Newcastle move
As a private jet was spotted flying into Newcastle this morning, social media rumours exploded into life.
Sunderland fan, Underthelights73, reported that the player flying in was Bamba, although he was unsure which club he was arriving for.
Newcastle's need for midfielders is well known this summer, and they appeared to be the more likely of the two clubs.
Should Guimaraes leave, the Magpies will certainly need another more experienced option past Bamba and Steur, but they appear to be building for the future, too.
More rumours subsequently emerged that Newcastle staff met the player at the airport, with confirmation elsewhere awaited.
An announcement appears to be imminent, with Bamba set to go undergo a medical on Thursday.
What sort of player is Bamba?
The fact that Newcastle have been so willing to pay such a large figure for Bamba despite his lack of experience demonstrates just how highly rated he is.
The midfielder's tall frame and long legs make him a superb winner of the ball, racking up a superb 3.64 tackles per 90 minutes in Ligue 1 last season.
The France youth international also registered 5.63 recoveries and won a staggering 9.06 duels per game, making him a defensive powerhouse.
That is not to say Bamba is poor on the ball - far from it. The 20-year-old completed 70 per cent of his attempted dribbles last season and created 1.44 chances per game.