NEWCASTLE UNITED are hoping to wrap up the signing of Kieran Trippier in the next 48 hours, with the full-back having said his final goodbyes to Atletico Madrid.

Trippier did not train with the rest of Atletico’s first-team squad today, with the La Liga club having admitted defeat in their attempts to retain the England international.

Newcastle officials are hoping to conduct a medical in the next couple of days, and are confident of being able to confirm Trippier as the first signing of the club’s new Saudi Arabia-backed era before the weekend.

While there have been contrasting reports of the transfer fee, the Magpies are understood to be paying an initial sum of around €15m, although the final value of the deal could rise significantly if a number of clauses are met.

Trippier, whose deal with Atletico was due to run to the summer of 2023, has consistently maintained that his desire to return to England is not being driven by financial or sporting considerations.

Instead, the 31-year-old wants to be closer to his wife and two children, who did not join him in Spain when he moved to Madrid from Tottenham in the summer of 2019.

A switch to Newcastle will enable him to see much more of his family, hence his willingness to join a side scrapping in the Premier League relegation zone. Trippier’s deal on Tyneside is understood to include a clause that would enable him to move on again in the summer if the Magpies were to drop into the Championship.

Atletico officials mounted a strong attempt to keep the defender at the Wanda Metropolitano, with Diego Simeone stating publicly at the weekend that he did not want to lose one of his side’s key performers.

However, while Trippier played in Atletico’s weekend win over Rayo Vallecano, there was an already an acceptance that it would be counterproductive to retain him against his will.

An established international with 35 senior caps to his name, Trippier, who started last summer’s European Championships final against Italy, will hope a move to Newcastle does not adversely affect his chances of making it into Gareth Southgate’s England squad for this winter’s World Cup in Qatar.

Southgate is blessed with a host of top-class right-back options, with Reece James, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Kyle Walker joined by the likes of Southampton youngster Tino Livramento and Manchester United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

While Newcastle’s key priority this month was always going to be strengthening their defence, Callum Wilson’s calf injury means they are also looking to recruit a forward.

However, they have been told they will have to agree a permanent deal with Flamengo if they are to land attacking target Gabriel Barbosa.

While Eddie Howe would prefer to recruit players with Premier League experience, there is an acceptance it will be all-but-impossible to sigh a proven forward with a track record in the English top-flight this month.

As a result, Newcastle’s recruitment team have been spreading their net wider and Barbosa has emerged as a potentially-attractive option.

The 25-year-old has been in stunning form in the Brazilian top-flight with Flamengo, scoring 98 goals in 139 matches to successfully rebuild his career after a difficult time in Europe.

Barbosa joined Inter Milan for a fee of around €30m in 2016, but he failed to spark at the San Siro and a brief loan spell in Portugal with Benfica proved equally unsuccessful.

He has been excellent with both Santos and Flamengo though, eventually rejoining the latter on a permanent basis in December 2020, but his previous inability to settle in Europe is an obvious concern to his English suitors, most notably Newcastle and West Ham.

The Hammers tried to steal a march on the Magpies by tabling an offer that would have seen them pay around £5m to sign Barbosa on an 18-month loan deal, but that has been rejected by Flamengo.

If the Brazilian club are to allow their prize asset to leave this month, they want to extract the maximum possible value. That means a sale rather than a loan arrangement.