'Huge boost' - Newcastle agree £40m Ramsey deal

Jacob Ramsey joined the Aston Villa academy at the age of six

Newcastle are close to signing Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey in a deal worth about £40m.

BBC Sport reported on Wednesday that the clubs were in advanced talks over the proposed deal for the 24-year-old.

An agreement in principle has now been reached, with just the finer details left to complete.

Once signed off, Ramsey will complete the formalities, including a medical, of the move to St James' Park.

Villa host Newcastle in their opening Premier League game at 12:30 BST on Saturday.

Ramsey, a former England Under-21 international, has scored 17 goals in 167 appearances for Villa since earning his senior debut in 2019 and was a regular for Unai Emery's side last season.

Newcastle have also signed winger Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest and AC Milan defender Malick Thiaw on permanent deals this summer.

England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, meanwhile, joined the Magpies from Southampton on a season-long loan earlier this month.

'Huge boost after summer of knockbacks'

Ciaran Kelly, Newcastle United reporter

Newcastle United are now on the verge of making as many first-team signings in the space of a week as they did in the opening couple of months of the window.

That is a statement worth repeating.

The Alexander Isak saga continues to rumble on, but the progress Newcastle have made in recent days serves as a huge boost for Eddie Howe following such a frustrating summer of knockbacks.

Newcastle completed a move for Malick Thiaw earlier this week and the club are now closing in on Jacob Ramsey.

Ramsey, like Thiaw, is a player Newcastle have admired for some time and you sense that the midfielder has all the ingredients - the age, the athleticism and the desire - to go to another level at St James' Park.

Ramsey will give Newcastle some added depth in the middle of the park following Sean Longstaff's departure and, crucially, the 24-year-old can plug in seamlessly, having already played in both the Premier League and, of course, the Champions League.

'A deal Villa would have preferred not to have done'

Nick Mashiter, BBC Sport

It is a deal Aston Villa and Unai Emery would have preferred not to have done in an ideal world.

However, this is not that world but one in which teams must abide by profit and sustainability rules, and finances are tight at Villa Park.

A youth product like Ramsey would always be the asset to sell to generate pure profit and £40m will undoubtedly help Villa comply with the rules.

It was the same last year when they had to sell Douglas Luiz despite qualifying for the Champions League.

It would be churlish to call Villa purely a selling club now but they are not immune to financial pressures, as has been obvious over the past 18 months, and the failure to reach the Champions League this season will naturally have an effect.

Emery was a fan of Ramsey - he would have like to have kept him - but the manager is living in reality. He knows the landscape Villa must navigate, even if it may seem rocky.

Striker Evann Guessand has joined from Nice and there are likely to be more arrivals, perhaps even the return of Marco Asensio after his successful loan last season, but Villa must continue to outthink the bigger spenders.