NEWCASTLE UNITED have completed the signing of midfielder Nabil Bentaleb on loan for the remainder of the season.

Bentaleb moves to Tyneside from German club Schalke, with the Magpies having agreed a loan fee of around £850,000 for the 25-year-old.

Newcastle have also agreed a clause that will enable them to turn the current arranagement into a permanent transfer at the end of the season, with a fee of around €11m having been agreed with Schalke.

Bentaleb is an Algeria international, who represented his country at the 2014 World Cup and 2015 and 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, has previously played in the Premier League for Tottenham.

He made 66 appearances for the North London club - scoring his only goal against Newcastle in a League Cup tie in December 2014 - before moving to Schalke, initially on loan, in August 2016.

Bentaleb has made 97 appearances for the Bundesliga side, scoring 19 times, and has also played in the Champions League.

"I'm very happy to come back to the Premier League, especially with a club such as Newcastle," said Bentaleb, in an interview with Newcastle's official website. "The project really interested me.

"I wanted absolutely to come back to the Premier League. The coach had some trust in me and the club also - I saw that straight away - and I think it's the perfect move for me."

Newcastle head coach Steve Bruce added: "He's somebody who I paid particular attention to when he was at Spurs, when he broke through and got a big money move to Germany.

"He's played at the highest level now for the last four or five years but he will come in hungry and feeling he has something to prove and will give us the competition we obviously need.

"With the numbers that we've got at the minute, he's got a bit of experience and I think people will enjoy watching him play. He'll come into the squad and I'm sure he'll be a good acquisition for us.

"The fact that he's played in the Premier League before helps, because we know that he can play and knows what the demands of the Premier League are. He's gone from the Premier League to Schalke and played in the Champions League as well, so we're delighted to get him. It's a great signing."