Newcastle Closing in on Loan Signing of Schalke Midfielder Nabil Bentaleb

​Newcastle United are set to complete the loan signing of Schalke midfielder Nabil Bentaleb, who will move to St James' Park for the remainder of the season.

Manager Steve Bruce has been on the lookout for more midfield reinforcements during the January transfer window and appears to have settled on the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder.

As noted by the Times journalist ​Martin Hardy, Bentaleb arrived in Newcastle on Monday for a medical, and should everything go according to plan, he will complete a loan switch until the end of the season.

25-year-old Bentaleb is yet to play any first-team football at ​Schalke this season, having been banished to the reserves. He was initially dropped back in March 2019 for disciplinary reasons, and after being recalled a month later, was banished for good in late April.

His last game of club football came back in April 2019, when he managed a 23-minute substitute appearance in a 1-1 draw with Nuremberg.

In December, he told ​Onze Mondial: "The situation with the club is a bit complicated at the moment. That's no secret. 

"To be concrete, they don't want me to train with the first-team squad or to be associated with the squad in any way. When I say 'they', I mean the management and not the coach. In principle, I'm waiting to leave."

It appears as though Bentaleb will soon seal his move away from Schalke, and ​Onze Mondial add that ​Newcastle have negotiated a €10m option to buy if Bentaleb's loan spell goes well.

Alongside Bentaleb, Bruce remains optimistic about striking a deal for ​Inter midfielder Valentino Lazaro. 90min understands a ​loan could be completed in the coming days, but that could be slowed if any other sides decide to involve themselves in negotiations.

Newcastle are also interested in ​Hull City forward Jarrod Bowen, but like with Lazaro, they face serious competition for his signature.

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