THIS has come as something of a bolt from the blue, but Newcastle are close to agreeing a loan deal with Anderlecht for Aleksandar Mitrovic. 

Mitrovic left Anderlecht to join Newcastle and the Magpies had previously been reluctant to let him go anywhere this month until they had a replacement lined up.

Bordeaux made contact this morning, but it looks like Anderlecht have won the race to sign the player, who knows he needs to play in the second half of the season to secure a place in Serbia's World Cup squad.

The big question now is whether his departure will mean Rafael Benitez finally landing a new striker, with Leicester's Islam Slimani very much at the top of his wanted list.