EDDIE Howe believes Newcastle United have had a "good" summer transfer window, with the club set to wrap up their business with the capture of Chelsea's Lewis Hall, who had his medical on Tyneside yesterday.

The 18-year-old will join the Magpies on an initial loan deal that will then be permanent next summer for a fee in the region of £28m.

Howe insists he's not surprised that Chelsea have sanctioned the exit of such a highly-rated young player to a rival and says the deal is in the "best interests" of both clubs.

And the head coach believes the arrival of Hall is another significant step towards ensuring he has the squad depth he craves as Newcastle look to fight on four fronts this season - the Premier League, Champions League and two domestic cup competitions.

Howe confirmed that the arrival of Hall will be Newcastle's final signing of the summer, with the young left-back set to follow Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento through the door at St James' Park.

Bringing in a left-back to compete with Dan Burn and Matt Targett was a priority for Newcastle this summer and there's delight at the imminent capture of a hugely talented young player with his best years ahead of him.

Hall burst onto the scene at Stamford Bridge last season and recently signed a new seven-year deal. But Mauricio Pochettino isn't short of left-backs, with Ben Chilwell, Marc Cucurella and Ian Maatsen also on the books at Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea need to balance the books after their recent heavy spending.

A loan move to Crystal Palace was in the offing for Hall earlier this summer but Newcastle's interest in a permanent move for Hall - on the back of an initial loan - immediately shifted the balance in the Magpies' favour. What also helped was the fact Hall quickly made it known he was interested in the move to Tyneside, with his dad a lifelong Newcastle fan.

"He's a player I like, he's very versatile with really good potential," said Howe of Hall yesterday.

Asked whether he was surprised Chelsea were willing to do business with a close rival, Howe said: "I don't necessarily see it that way. They had their own decisions to make. Until the deal is done, it's difficult to say.

"They have potentially made a decision that's in their best interests and we have made a decision in our best interests. I've not really given the whole situation the thought like your question."

Key for Howe this summer in building on last season's success was ensuring Newcastle have greater depth to deal with the hectic schedule ahead.

"I feel we're getting there," he said.

"This season we won't feel the real effects of the games until September-October or November-December, they're probably going to be the key months for us. I think it will surprise some of the players how intense and physically that's going to do to us so we're going to need the depth 100% and we're going to need to keep as many players as we can fit and injury free as possible so this is going to be a real test of our resources.

"That's why I feel we need the strength in depth and the strongest squad possible - and I feel we're getting there."

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While Howe is pleased with Newcastle's work in the summer window, he's reluctant to give an immediate overall verdict.

"It's very difficult to make a sweeping statement on the window because I think you give an opinion at that point when you might feel differently a year after," he says.

"I always think when you sign players everyone will go 'oh what a great signing' and they haven't even seen him play yet. Time will always be the deciding factor in how good your recruitment has been.

"As I feel now, I think it's been a good window but really it's one or two years down the line that you give a true assessment."