Newcastle are close to signing Aleksandar Mitrovic and Chancel Mbemba from the Belgian side Anderlecht as Steve McClaren continues to rebuild at St James’ Park.
The Serbia striker Mitrovic was pictured arriving in England on Sunday and the 20-year-old is expected to have his medical on Monday after the clubs agreed a fee around £13m.
Asked about the possibility of signing Mitrovic after the 1-0 win over Sacramento Republic on Sunday, McClaren said: “We are very close to something. There is a lot of speculation and pre-empting of decisions. But certainly from the feedback back home they are working very hard to bring one or two players in.”
Mitrovic scored 23 goals in 44 appearances for Anderlecht last season, including a goal against Arsenal in the 3-3 draw at the Emirates.
The Democratic Republic of Congo international Mbemba was left out of the Anderlecht side that beat Lazio 3-1 in a pre-season friendly on Sunday after Newcastle agreed to pay around £7m for the defender. The only stumbling block could be that DR Congo are not ranked inside the top 50 by Fifa, meaning the club may have to appeal for him to qualify for a work permit under new rules introduced by the Football Association in May.
