Juventus are close to an agreement with Newcastle over the signing of Lloyd Kelly on an initial loan with a £15m obligation to buy

Juventus and Newcastle United are close to agreement on a loan deal for Lloyd Kelly.

The centre-back who joined Newcastle as a free agent after leaving Bournemouth in the summer has only made 13 appearances and is due to move to Turin on an initial loan with obligation to buy at £15million – but the two parties were still locked in discussions over payment terms gone midnight heading into Sunday.

The 26-year-old came up through the Bristol City youth academy before moving to the Cherries. Talks are also focusing on add ons and sell on percentage.

He made 14 competitive appearances so far this season, contributing one assist.

Kelly’s departure will free up a significant amount of room on the Magpies wage bill, with the defender reportedly earning around £100,000-per-week on a deal until the summer of 2029. 

The Englishman’s path to the first team has been blocked by the likes of Fabian Schar, Dan Burn and Sven Botman, while Emil Krafth has recently returned from injury and Jamaal Lascelles also expected to be available before the end of the campaign.

Juve currently sit fifth in Serie A, two points off the Champions League places and a further 12 points adrift of the leaders

Kelly will Join a Juventus side currently sitting fifth in the Italian top flight. The Old Lady have not taken to life smoothly under new boss Thiago Motta, despite only losing league game this term. 

Juve have drawn 13 of their 22 matches and sit two points off the Champions League places and a further 12 points adrift of the leaders Napoli. 

He will be the club’s fourth addition this month following the signings of Alberto Costa, Renato Viega and Randal Kolo Muani.

Newcastle, meanwhile, still don’t anticipate adding any players this window should Kelly depart.

Kieran Trippier is also the subject of interest from Galatasaray