NEWCASTLE UNITED will complete the £5m signing of Joselu within the next 24 hours after the Stoke City striker underwent a medical on Tyneside yesterday.

The Magpies also remain confident of striking a loan agreement for Chelsea youngster Kenedy, even though the Brazilian was part of Antonio Conte’s first-team squad at the weekend.

Rafael Benitez has been keen to strengthen his attacking resources all summer, and a series of protracted negotiations with Stoke officials over Joselu finally reached a successful resolution at the weekend.

Stoke had initially been reluctant to part company with the Spanish striker, but their stance shifted when they agreed a loan deal with Paris St Germain for former Real Madrid forward Jese Rodriguez.

Jese, who was the subject of January interest from Middlesbrough, is set to agree a season-long loan at the Britannia Stadium in the next few days, and his impending arrival persuaded Mark Hughes to sanction Joselu’s departure.

Having spent last season on loan at Deportivo La Coruna, the 27-year-old was not in Stoke’s match-day squad as they kicked off their Premier League season with a 1-0 defeat at Everton at the weekend.

However, Benitez regards him as a potentially valuable addition on Tyneside, and while he has struggled to make an impact with the Potters, the former Spain Under-21 international scored five goals in 20 appearances with Deportivo last season.

He has also spent time with Hoffenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt and Hannover in the Bundesliga, and will bolster a Newcastle forward line that has lost Daryl Murphy since the end of last season.

He has agreed the personal terms of his switch to St James’ Park, and his arrival will be confirmed in time for him to challenge for a place in the squad for Sunday’s Premier League game at Huddersfield Town.

Benitez is also hoping to add Kenedy to his attacking ranks, and the Chelsea youngster will be leaving Stamford Bridge this month despite his presence on the substitutes’ bench as the reigning champions suffered a shock 3-2 defeat to Burnley on Saturday.

With Diego Costa ostracised in Brazil and Eden Hazard and Pedro unavailable because of injury, Antonio Conte’s attacking options are seriously stretched.

However, the Chelsea boss is expected to make signings of his own in the next few days, and that will hasten Kenedy’s departure.

Newcastle officials have held a series of discussions with their counterparts at Stamford Bridge, and while a number of issues relating to contractual matters still have to be finalised, there is confidence an agreement can be reached.

The Magpies’ return to the Premier League did not go to plan on Sunday, with Tottenham condemning them to a 2-0 home defeat.

Newcastle contained last season’s runners-up for the opening 45 minutes at St James’ Park, but the game changed when Jonjo Shelvey was deservedly dismissed for a senseless stamp on Dele Alli at the start of the second half.

Shelvey’s petulance has been widely condemned, and while the midfielder might have talked of turning over a new leaf when he broke his self-imposed silence during this summer’s training camp in Ireland, it is clear his lack of self-control remains a major problem.

He will miss Newcastle’s forthcoming matches against Huddersfield, Nottingham Forest and West Ham, and as last season proved, the Magpies do not have a ready-made replacement when he is not in the team. Nevertheless, just as Benitez was reluctant to publicly criticise the midfielder, so Shelvey’s team-mates have rallied to his defence.

“We are a team,” said Shelvey’s fellow midfielder, Isaac Hayden. “People will make mistakes during the season - Jonjo made one, but there will be others as well.

“Jonjo has been massive part of the turnaround at this club and what has been achieved, he has made a mistake and there’s nothing more to say on it really.

“We can’t dwell on it. It is a mistake, people make them and everyone is a human being. It is about learning from mistakes like that and coming back stronger.”

With Shelvey off the field, Newcastle were unable to contain a Tottenham side who scored second-half goals from Alli and Ben Davies.

The defeat means the Magpies have lost their last three opening Premier League games after winning promotion, although Hayden claims it was still possible to take positives from their performance.

“The work rate was very good, and you expect that when you go down to ten men, you have to give it your all,” he said. “Unfortunately, with the quality they have, with ten men there are a lot of gaps to cover.

“I don’t think they had that many clear-cut openings to score, and we still hit them on the counter-attack with ten men. We had a few opportunities and, on another day, we could have got something.”