LLOYD KELLY is set to leave Newcastle United in the final two days of the transfer window, with Juventus having agreed a deal to sign the centre-half.
A day of intense negotiations has resulted in a breakthrough that has seen the Magpies hierarchy give Kelly the green light to travel to Turin to complete a move to the Serie A side.
The deal is expected to be an initial loan agreement to the end of the season, with a view to a permanent move in the summer.
Juventus are understood to have agreed to a fee of around £15m for Kelly, who joined Newcastle as a free agent in the summer following his departure from Bournemouth.
Given that they signed the 26-year-old for nothing just over seven months ago, the Newcastle hierarchy clearly feel they cannot turn down the opportunity to sell Kelly for a considerable profit ahead of Monday night’s transfer deadline.
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The deal will also free up a significant amount of room on the wage bill, with Kelly who is contracted to Newcastle to the summer of 2029, reportedly earning around £100,000-a-week.
At this stage, there is no intention to sign a defensive replacement before the window closes, with Magpies officials confident there is sufficient defensive cover to see the club through to the end of the campaign.
Fabian Schar, Dan Burn and Sven Botman are Newcastle’s three leading centre-halves, with Emil Krafth now injury-free to provide additional cover and Jamaal Lascelles also expected to be available before the end of the campaign.
While Kelly is also able to deputise for Lewis Hall at left-back, Newcastle could also move either Burn or Kieran Trippier into the positon if Hall was to become unavailable.
Newcastle rebuffed Juventus’ initial approach for Kelly earlier in the window, but the Italian side returned to the table with an improved offer in the last 24 hours.
Kelly, who was an 87th-minute substitute as Newcastle suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Fulham this afternoon, has made seven starts and seven substitute appearances since moving to Tyneside in the summer.
