Newcastle United are working on a deal for Wigan Athletic striker Kyle Joseph to snatch him out of the clutches of Celtic.
The highly rated 19-year old is out of contract in the summer and was poised to join Celtic after they held talks with his representatives in February.
However, Newcastle have now stepped in with a greater offer and are strong favourites to sign the Scotland U19 international.
League One strugglers Wigan would have been expecting compensation of around £230,000 from Celtic for a cross-border transfer of a player out of contract and under 24 but talks with Newcastle are understood to have gone well and the Premier League side are willing to pay around £850,000 to help push the deal their way.