Newcastle United are in pole position to sign PSV Eindhoven captain Georginio Wijnaldum after Zenit St. Petersburg dropped out of the race.

Magpies managing director Lee Charnley flew across to the Netherlands earlier this week to negotiate a deal with PSV for the 24-year-old Dutch international.




However, Newcastle’s bid to take the player to England received another shot in the arm as according to the Eindhoven Dagblad, Zenit have dropped out of the chase for the attacking midfielder.

Zenit were the first movers in the transfer saga with a €10m offer for the PSV captain but Newcastle got involved and have tabled a €15m to €20m bid for Wijnaldum.
 


The Russians are said to be in no mood to get into a financial battle with the Magpies and have dropped out of the chase for the playmaker.

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While Everton are also keen, Newcastle are confident that they will be able to close out the deal for the 24-year-old soon.

With talks with the Magpies having progressed smoothly, Wijnaldum could arrive in England as early as today to undergo a medical with the Premier League side.

The Dutchman made 44 appearances in all competitions last season, scoring 18 goals and providing six assists for his team-mates at PSV.