NEWCASTLE UNITED are close to completing the signature of Lewis Hall, with the Chelsea full-back keen to push through a permanent move to St James’ Park.

The Magpies have agreed the framework of a deal for the 18-year-old, and are understood to be willing to sign off on a total package worth around £28m.

The payment details of the deal, and a series of potential add-ons, are still under discussion, with both Newcastle and Chelsea attempting to engineer the best possible outcome for them in terms of Financial Fair Play regulations.

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There is a willingness on both sides to make the deal happen, though, and after significant progress was made yesterday, there is a chance a deal could be completed before the end of the weekend.

Eddie Howe outlined his desire to complete “one more transfer” before the window closes last week, with left-back an obvious priority position given that Dan Burn could be needed at centre-half at some stage this season and Matt Targett has struggled to establish himself as a first-team regular since his switch from Aston Villa.

Hall only signed a new seven-year deal at Chelsea earlier this summer, but the youngster, who burst onto the senior scene at the end of last season and impressed in the Blues’ 1-1 draw with Newcastle on the final day of the campaign, has found himself shuffled behind Ben Chilwell, Marc Cucurella and Ian Maatsen in the left-back pecking order at Stamford Bridge.

He was the subject of a loan offer from Crystal Palace earlier this month, and Chelsea officials were set to agree to a temporary switch to Selhurst Park before Newcastle revealed their own interest and floated the possibility of a permanent transfer.

A permanent deal is of more use to Chelsea in terms of balancing the books and remaining on the right side of the FFP rules in the wake of their summer transfer splurge, and discussions have progressed reasonably rapidly.

From a Newcastle perspective, it helps that Hall is understood to be extremely receptive to the idea of moving to Tyneside. His father is a lifelong Newcastle fan, and despite being born and raised in Slough, he grew up with a soft spot for the Magpies.

More importantly, he is known to have been impressed with Newcastle’s progress under Howe in the last 18 months, particularly in relation to the development of young players, and it would be understandable if he thought he had a better chance of playing regular first-team football at St James’ Park this season rather than an Stamford Bridge.

If Newcastle were to complete Hall’s signing, that would almost certainly complete their incoming transfer business for the summer.

There are still a number of players who could potentially leave before the end of the month though, most notably Ryan Fraser, Isaac Hayden and Jeff Hendrick, who are all currently training with the Under-21s.