AYOZE PEREZ is close to leaving Newcastle United after the Magpies agreed a surprise £30m deal with Leicester City.

Perez and his representatives met Leicester officials earlier today to discuss a proposed switch to the King Power Stadium.

The Spaniard is set to undergo a medical and finalise personal terms tomorrow, with Leicester hoping a deal will be completed before the weekend.

The Foxes were given permission to speak to Perez after the Leicester hierarchy agreed a £30m deal for the 25-year-old. It is not yet known how much of the fee will be paid up front.

Perez’s future has been the subject of considerable speculation in the last six months, with the Spaniard having enjoyed his most successful season in the Premier League, scoring 12 league goals to help fire the Magpies away from trouble in the bottom half of the table.

It had, however, been assumed that if he left St James’ Park, he would be heading back to his native Spain, with Valencia and Real Betis both having been strongly linked with a move for the forward.

Perez joined Newcastle in a £1.5m move from Tenerife in the summer of 2014, and had spoken of his desire to play in La Liga at some stage during his career.

However, Leicester made an early move to acquire his services and are confident of wrapping up a deal in the next 48 hours.

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers is keen to make significant improvements to his squad this summer, and identified his side’s attack as a key area of concern in the second half of last season.

Jamie Vardy remains a key part of the Leicester ranks, but is set to turn 33 in January. Neither Kelechi Iheanacho nor Islam Slimani is regarded as a long-term answer to the Foxes’ attacking issues, while Rodgers is understood to harbour doubts about Shinji Okazaki’s ability to succeed as part of his preferred system.

Perez is a much younger alternative, and his extensive Premier League experience makes him an attractive proposition.

The forward’s departure represents yet another huge blow in a summer that has already seen Newcastle lose their manager, Rafael Benitez, and become embroiled in a takeover saga that does not look like reaching a resolution.

The Magpies have already lost Salomon Rondon, who has returned to West Brom at the end of his loan deal, and Mo Diame, who was released as a free agent.

There are also question marks over the future of Jonjo Shelvey, Isaac Hayden and Sean Longstaff, who is set to be the subject of a £25m offer from Manchester United.