Gareth Barry is set to undergo a medical at West Brom on Tuesday ahead of a proposed move from Everton.
The 36-year-old midfielder is expected to sign a 12-month contract at The Hawthorns with the option of another year, according to reports in the English media.
An ankle injury saw him miss Everton’s opening Premier League game against Stoke at the weekend but the problem is not expected to complicate any deal and Barry could even be fit to make his debut when West Brom face Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday.
Albion head coach Tony Pulis has been looking for a replacement for Darren Fletcher in central midfield after he left for Stoke this summer and the experienced Barry fits the bill.
The former Aston Villa trainee, who has also played for Manchester City, has made 628 Premier League appearances and needs to play just five more matches to overtake former Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs as the competition's all-time record appearance holder.
Everton boss Ronald Koeman was open to keeping Barry but the club's summer spending has made competition for places fierce at Goodison Park and the anticipated arrival of Gylfi Sigurdsson from Swansea would see the former England international fall further down the pecking order.
Barry would become the fourth new signing at West Brom this summer after the acquisitions of Jay Rodriguez, Zhang Yuning and Ahmed Hegazi.
Pulis said in the build-up to his side’s opening game of the season against Bournemouth that he wanted four or five more additions before the transfer window closed at the end of the month.
Newcastle hope to complete their move for Stoke striker Joselu on Tuesday after making significant progress.
The 27-year-old travelled to Tyneside for a medical on Monday with negotiations ongoing and the Magpies are optimistic of completing a £5million swoop.
That would come as a boost to manager Rafael Benitez on a day which saw the club confirm that defenders Florian Lejeune and Paul Dummett will be sidelined by injury for several weeks.
Benitez has been vocal in recent weeks over the club’s relative lack of transfer activity and with owner Mike Ashley having admitted over the weekend that he will not be pouring millions of his own money into the club, fans fear last season’s Sky Bet Championship winners could be left behind.
Ashley had previously promised the Spaniard “every penny” the club generated from promotion and players sales minus costs, and while that appeared to have handed him a transfer kitty in excess of £75million, only £31million has been invested in new signings to date.
Stoke themselves are close to confirming a loan deal for the Paris Saint-Germain striker Jese Rodriguez.
Officials from the Potteries club are in negotiations with the Ligue 1 team about the 24-year-old and are optimistic they can reach an agreement which would bring the former Real Madrid player to the Bet365 Stadium.
Jese, who cost PSG almost £22m last summer, has made just one league start for the French side to date and spent the second half of last season on loan at Las Palmas.
Meanwhile Liverpool youngster Sheyi Ojo is set to join SkyBet Championship club Fulham on loan.
The 20-year-old has been weighing up his options after receiving offers from a number of clubs, including the likes of Middlesbrough, Derby and Aston Villa but it’s understood that the winger has opted to move to Craven Cottage.
Ojo, an Under-20 World Cup winner with England this summer, managed only two first-team games for Liverpool last season after being hampered by injury and as a result has fallen down the pecking order with Ryan Kent moving ahead of him following a good pre-season.
He spent the first half of the previous campaign on loan at Wolves before being recalled to Anfield in January 2016 to make his first-team debut on his way to 11 appearances.
