Newcastle United & Man Utd target set for medical ‘this week’ after £69m transfer agreed

Benfica forward Goncalo Ramos was eyed by Newcastle as a potential alternative attacking option after they missed out on Hugo Ekitike to PSG last summer. The Portuguese striker was valued at around £30million back then but has since seen his price rise significantly.

The 22-year-old enjoyed an excellent 2022-23 campaign, scoring 27 goals and registering 12 assists in 47 games for Benfica while also scoring a hat-trick for Portugal in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar last winter.

As a result, his value has increased exponentially over the past 12 months. While clubs won’t come close to his £105million release clause, PSG are understood to have reached an agreement of around £69million including add-ons.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has claimed the deal could be completed by the end of the week with a medical expected to be booked in the coming days ahead of completing a five-year deal. Ramos has also been linked with a move to Manchester United as well as Bayern Munich.

And in an interesting series of events, Ramos’ arrival is likely to deem Ekitike surplus to requirements ahead of the coming season. After rejecting a move to Newcastle, Ekitike went on to score four goals in 32 appearances for PSG last season with the majority of his appearances coming from the bench.

In addition to Ramos, Romano has also reported that PSG are close to signing Ousmane Dembele from Barcelona. The 26-year-old has previously been linked with a move to Newcastle amid contract uncertainty at Camp Nou.