Newcastle confirm promotion intent with triple deal worth more than £25m

The Magpies confirmed their first signing of the summer yesterday morning when goalkeeper Matz Sels signed a five-year deal to complete a £4.5m move from Belgian side Gent.

Their second deal should be formally ratified later today, with striker Dwight Gayle having travelled to Tyneside yesterday afternoon after Crystal Palace agreed a £10m offer for his services.

And Newcastle are hoping to wrap up a transfer hat-trick before the weekend, with talks with Bournemouth officials about the future of winger Matt Ritchie heaving reached an advanced stage.

Rafael Benitez is keen to complete Ritchie’s signing before agreeing to the departure of England international Andros Townsend, with Bournemouth set to accept a £12m bid for the 26-year-old.

The combined outlay represents a major statement of intent from the Magpies, who are clearly determined to leave no stone unturned as they attempt to secure promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. Benitez sought cast-iron assurances about his ability to remodel his squad when he agreed to remain in position last month, and the Spaniard has been the driving force behind all three of this week’s deals.

Gayle was identified as a leading attacking target at an early stage of this summer’s transfer discussions, and the striker is understood to have agreed the personal terms of his move to the North-East.

He joined Crystal Palace from Peterborough in a £4.5m move in July 2013, and scored 15 goals in 63 appearances for the Eagles.

He came close to joining Bristol City last summer, only for the deal to collapse when the forward expressed reservations about moving to Ashton Gate, but signed a new long-term deal with Palace in April.

That suggested he still had a future at Selhurst Park, and he scored both goals in the 2-1 win over Stoke on the penultimate weekend of the season that guaranteed Palace’s Premier League survival.

However, Palace boss Alan Pardew is determined to overhaul his side’s attack this summer – Belgium international Michy Batshuayi was a leading target before agreeing to join Chelsea instead – and has deemed Gayle surplus to requirements.

The 25-year-old will compete with Aleksandar Mitrovic, who is suspended for the opening four games of the new campaign, and Papiss Cisse for a starting spot at Newcastle, although his arrival casts further doubt over the future of Ayoze Perez, who has been linked with a possible return to Spain in the last few days.

Ritchie’s anticipated arrival is linked to Townsend’s imminent departure, with Benitez adamant he wanted a like-for-like replacement for the January signing.

Ritchie was one of Bournemouth’s leading performers last season, starting all bar one of the Cherries’ league games as they secured top-flight survival. However, Newcastle’s inquiries about the 26-year-old received a positive response, and there is now strong optimism that a deal could be agreed within the next 48 hours.

The Magpies are willing to pay around £12m – the vast majority of which will be invested up front – and will hope Ritchie reproduces the form that saw him score 15 Championship goals when Bournemouth won promotion in the 2014-15 season.

Ritchie, who scored four top-flight goals last season, boasts ten senior Scotland caps, and is contracted at the Vitality Stadium until 2018. West Ham tried to sign him in a double deal with Callum Wilson earlier this month, but Bournemouth rejected the Hammers’ offer for the duo.

Sels’ transfer was confirmed yesterday morning, with the 24-year-old, who played for Gent in the Champions League last season, set to start next season as Newcastle’s number one.

With Tim Krul and Rob Elliot both recovering from serious knee injuries, Benitez was keen to strengthen Newcastle’s goalkeeping department and acquire an alternative to Karl Darlow, who played the final seven games of last season. Sels is likely to make his first Newcastle appearance when the club kick off their pre-season campaign against Irish side Bohemian on July 16.

“I’m very happy to be here,” said Sels. “One week ago, Newcastle showed that they were interested in me. I had a call with the coach, Rafa, and after this my decision was made really fast.

“In Belgium, if you say Newcastle, everybody knows Philippe Albert, so it’s really a big club in Belgium. There were also other clubs from the Premier League interested, but the most important thing is that we can go up with this club next year – where this team belongs. I hope I can help the team to go there.”

Meanwhile, Newcastle have confirmed the appointment of Cristian Fernandez Martinez and Daniel Marti to their medical team. Fernandez Martinez, who moves from Hull, joins in the role of rehabilitation fitness coach, while Marti, who has worked as a consultant with Tottenham and West Ham, has been appointed as first-team physiotherapist.