NEWCASTLE UNITED are close to completing a deal for Brentford midfielder Alan Judge – even though the Irishman is not due to recover from a broken leg until October.

Judge is set to travel to Tyneside for a medical later today after Newcastle agreed a fee with the Bees for the 27-year-old, who had been due to become a free agent at the end of this season.

Judge has been sidelined since suffering a double leg break in April, an injury that forced him to miss the end of last season’s Championship campaign and this summer’s European Championships.

He is still completing his recovery, and has not taken any part in pre-season, but Newcastle's medical staff are understood to be hopeful he will be available in a couple of months' time.

The midfielder scored 14 goals last term, and was regarded as one of the most talented play-makers in the Football League.

He was named in the Football League Team of the Year last term, and was also selected in the PFA’s Championship Team of the Year.

He is set to complete personal negotiations later today, and his transfer could be completed ahead of Newcastle’s EFL Cup second-round tie with Cheltenham Town.

Newcastle have also been pursuing Bas Dost, but Magpies officials have accepted that they will be extremely unlikely to land the Dutch striker during the current transfer window.

Dost, who currently plays for German Bundesliga side Wolfsburg, is also interesting Sporting Lisbon and looks set to move to the Portuguese club before the end of the month.