NEWCASTLE UNITED will complete the signing of defender Florian Lejeune before the end of the week, and remain hopeful of landing England Under-21 international Tammy Abraham on a season-long loan from Chelsea.

However, the Magpies are resigned to missing out on midfield target Nicolas Pepe, with the Ivory Coast international having agreed the terms of a €12m switch to French club Lille.

Newcastle’s recruitment team continue to pursue a number of different targets, and having completed the permanent capture of Christian Atsu shortly after the end of last season, Lejeune should be confirmed as the club’s second summer signing within the next couple of days.

Eibar officials have finally agreed the terms of a deal that will see Newcastle meet Lejeune’s £8.7m buyout clause, and the French defender is set to travel to England to undergo a medical and complete the formalities of his move from La Liga.

Talks have been ongoing for a couple of weeks, with Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley having initially tried to broker a deal that would have seen a portion of Lejeune’s transfer fee being dependent on a series of clauses.

Eibar repeatedly rejected Newcastle’s attempts to engineer such an agreement, and a breakthrough was achieved over the weekend when Charnley agreed to meet Lejeune’s buyout clause in full.

The 26-year-old centre-half has also been interesting Tottenham and Roma, and will double his current wages when he puts pen to paper on a new deal at St James’ Park.

The €10m deal is the biggest in Eibar’s history, and will see Lejeune compete with Jamaal Lascelles and Ciaran Clark for a place in Newcastle’s first-choice back four next season.

Whether Abraham is also on the Magpies’ books next term remains to be seen, with the Chelsea youngster having shelved a decision on his future until he has completed his international duties with England Under-21s at the European Championships.

Charnley attempted to force through a deal prior to the tournament in the Czech Republic, but Abraham did not want to make a snap decision over his future destination.

Since declaring their hand, the Newcastle hierarchy have watched Brighton and Swansea confirm their own interest in a season-long loan deal, with Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem also having been linked with a potential move.

Swansea were the third of the English clubs to make a formal approach to Chelsea, and their chairman, Huw Jenkins, is hoping a move to the Liberty Stadium will prove a more attractive proposition than a switch to either St James’ or the Amex.

“Tammy does not have Premier League experience, but we are interested,” said Jenkins. “Paul (Clement) knows him from Chelsea.

“If you look at the options which have been publicised, (they are) Brighton, Newcastle and ourselves, so it is left to Tammy and his family to decide where he wants to go next.”

Newcastle have also been linked with a possible move for Cameroon striker Vincent Aboubakar, who is currently on international duty at the Confederations Cup.

Aboubakar, who is with Porto, spent last season on loan with Turkish Besiktas, who claimed the Super Lig title. Besiktas would like to sign him permanently, but cannot meet Porto’s asking price or match the striker’s wage demands.

The Magpies had also been hoping to wrap up a deal for Pepe, but the Ivorian is close to completing a €12m switch to Lille.

Newcastle have held a number of discussions with Pepe’s current club, Angers, but Lille have also been pushing hard for his signature, and the French club are understood to have persuaded the 22-year-old to reject the opportunity of a move to the Premier League in order to remain in Ligue 1.

Lille coach Marcelo Bielsa has made Pepe his number one summer target, and the Ivorian is expected to complete a medical with his prospective new employers in the next 24 hours.

Pepe is set to sign a five-year deal with Lille, having made 33 Ligue 1 appearances with Angers last season.