Transfer round-up: Sunderland man finally on verge of Turkish switch, Magpies face competition for Perez and Boro told to pay £3m for Shotton

Jeremain Lens is on the verge of completing his move to Turkey and that could allow Sunderland some extra spending power to push on with their own recruitment.

The Dutch forward, who has already agreed the terms of his three-year deal, has arrived in Istanbul to complete the formalities having been told the two clubs have reached an agreement.

Besiktas had offered £3m for him and Sunderland had been hoping for nearer £8m, but there has been progress and now it seems a deal has been reached. The actual details of the fee are yet to emerge.

Sunderland are not expecting any new additions before tomorrow night’s season opener with Derby County, having already landed Robbin Ruiter this week.

MOVER: Jeremain lens

The Dutch goalkeeper signed a two-year deal at the Academy of Light last night after a successful trial. Grayson is now pushing ahead with strengthening his attacking options.

Aston Villa’s Ross McCormack, Bournemouth’s Max Gradel and Preston’s Jordan Hugill are all in Grayson’s thinking.

NEWCASTLE

Spanish forward Lucas Perez has got Fenerbahce seriously pushing to sign him after a failure to reach agreement with Deportivo La Coruna.

The Magpies have been told they need to pay £13.4m for the Arsenal man this month and that has put them so far.

All the clubs have been reluctant to match that figure, but Arsenal have been standing firm.

Perez’s agent Rodrigo Fernandez Lovelle said: "Two clubs in Spain have already contacted Perez for a transfer, Sevilla also want to sign him, and a German team and Fenerbahce are negotiating to sign the player.

"But Perez is a footballer who has a three-year contract with Arsenal and his future depends entirely on the decision of the club. If the club decide to close the transfer for him they must convince Arsenal.

"Which clubs can reach an agreement with Arsenal can sign him. There is no problem for us.”

LEAVING: Lucas Perez

Asked about Perez, Benitez said: “We are working on that but it’s not an easy transfer window. We have to wait and see if we can do something.”

Newcastle are also in the hunt for Atletico Madrid forward Angel Correa, although Rafael Benitez appears to be keeping his options open because of a failure to bring new forwards in quickly.

MIDDLESBROUGH

Birmingham City are demanding a fee in excess of £3m for defender Ryan Shotton.

The 28-year-old is wanted by Garry Monk and Boro have made an offer already for his services.

But Birmingham, who paid Derby £300,000 for him last summer, are prepared to let him leave at the right price after learning he is interested in the move.

TARGET: Ryan Shotton, left

Middlesbrough want a new defender following the departures of Antonio Barragan and Bernardo this summer. There could yet be further departures too, although Monk is doing his best to keep them.

Birmingham have been interested in signing Stewart Downing. That appears to have gone cold now, though, because of a disagreement over the remaining two years of Downing’s contract.

The former England winger has had talks with the Blues over a move and has been training with the Middlesbrough Under-23s. He was completely left out of the squad that faced Augsburg last weekend.

Middlesbrough forward Gaston Ramirez also looks like he is on the move. Italian club Sampdoria are now the favourites for his signature and it could happen this week. Nantes and Real Betis have also been keen.  

ACCORDING TO REPORTS

Virgil van Dijk is close to forcing his way out of Southampton after a series of tense meetings with the club this week.

Everton expect to finally tie up a £45m deal for Swansea's Gylfi Sigurdsson by the weekend.

RB Leipzig chief Ralf Rangnick concedes Liverpool target Naby Keita is unlikely to sign a new deal.

Barcelona will step up their chase for Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho by making a new bid of €120m.

Chelsea face the prospect of paying outcast Diego Costa's wages until January as the forward is not keen on joining AC Milan.

Arsenal's £35m move for Jean Michael Seri could depend on Nice's Champions League qualification.

Manchester United are willing to spend £27m on Paris Saint-Germain right-back Serge Aurier. United are also interested in 22-year-old Anderlecht midfielder Leander Dendoncker, but they'll not be making a bid in this window.