HAVING confirmed the signing of Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes yesterday, Newcastle United will complete the capture of centre-half Dan Burn later today as their January spending spree continues.

And with the transfer window due to close at 11pm tonight, the Magpies are also hoping to make a couple more additions to Eddie Howe’s squad with talks ongoing over Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard and the club also showing an interest in Aston Villa left-back Matt Targett.

Guimaraes was confirmed as Newcastle’s third January signing yesterday afternoon, having penned a four-and-a-half year deal to complete his switch from Ligue 1 side Lyon.

The Northern Echo:

The Magpies will pay Lyon an initial fee of around £35m for the 24-year-old, with a further £8m of potential add-ons agreed as part of the deal.

Guimaraes, who successfully passed a medical in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte on Saturday, will wear shirt number 39 - the number of the taxi once driven by his father.

He will remain in his homeland for the next few days, as he is part of the Brazil squad for Wednesday’s World Cup qualifier with Paraguay. An Olympic gold medal winner with his country at the 2020 Games, he has earned three full caps for Brazilian senior team.

“Bruno is a hugely exciting talent and has been one of our primary targets, so I’m delighted to secure him,” said Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe, who is now back in the North-East after last week’s training break in Saudi Arabia. “He strengthens the group immediately ready for the challenge ahead.

“He has been one of the standout performers in France and is a full international for Brazil so I have no doubt our supporters will really enjoy watching him. We look forward to welcoming him to the club on his return from international duty.”

Burn travelled to his native North-East yesterday afternoon after Brighton accepted Newcastle’s revised £13m offer and gave the 29-year-old defender the green light to rejoin the club that released him from their youth ranks when he was just 11.

The Northern Echo: Dan Burn  - Pic by : Richard Parkes.

Newcastle’s initial bid for Burn was rejected at the end of last week, but having admitted defeat in their pursuit of both Diego Carlos and Sven Botman, the Magpies’ recruitment team, led by director Amanda Staveley, returned to the negotiating table with an improved offer yesterday morning.

When that was accepted by the Brighton board, arrangements were finalised for Burn to undergo a medical and agree personal terms this morning.

Provided there are no unforeseen complications, Blyth-born Burn’s return to the North-East will be confirmed well ahead of this evening’s 11pm deadline.

The Northumbrian began his senior career with Darlington, impressing with the Quakers in the Conference before moving on to Fulham, Wigan and Brighton.

A versatile defender, and a towering presence at six foot six inches in height, Burn can play as a left-back or a centre-half in either a back four or back five.

His arrival is unlikely to be the end of Newcastle’s January business, with the Magpies still keen to bring in a couple more players before the window closes.

One of those players could yet be Lingard, despite Manchester United’s previous insistence that the England international would only be leaving Old Trafford on loan this month if Newcastle were to pay an exorbitant fee of around £10m.

The Northern Echo: Jesse Lingard believes anything is possible for Manchester United this season

Weekend discussions have raised the possibility of that figure being reduced significantly, although the situation could be complicated by Manchester United’s suspension of Mason Greenwood following allegations of domestic assault. With Greenwood currently unable to either train or play, Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick might be more reluctant to lose Lingard.

Howe has been keen to recruit a full-back all month, and Targett has emerged as a surprise target in the last 24 hours.

The Aston Villa defender has found his game time limited since Lucas Digne made the switch from Everton to Villa Park, and the Newcastle hierarchy have registered their interest with the Villa hierarchy.

Villa boss Steven Gerrard is keen to trim the size of his squad after a busy January, and the Magpies are hopeful of being able to sign Targett on loan for the remainder of the season.

There will also be outgoings from St James’ Park today, with Bournemouth having offered to take goalkeeper Freddie Woodman on a season-long loan.

Matty Longstaff is expected to leave on loan along with Elliot Anderson, while Dwight Gayle and Jeff Hendrick are also available.

Hendrick has been linked with a possible move down the A19 to Middlesbrough.