‘Imminent’ - Player sold by Newcastle United for £22m set to leave Premier League as personal terms agreed

Former Newcastle United striker Aleksandar Mitrovic is reportedly closing in on a move to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal.

A number of high-profile names have made the switch to the Middle East this summer and Al Hilal, who are one of four Saudi teams owned by the Public Investment Fund, have benefitted significantly following the £86million arrival of Neymar earlier this week.

Not just Neymar, the Riyadh-based club have also recruited Ruben Neves from Wolves, Kalidou Koulibaly from Chelsea, Lazio’s Sergei Milinkovic-Savic and Zenit Saint Petersburg’s Malcom, who scored a hat-trick in the opening 3-1 league win against Abha Club.

And as per transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Mitrovic is in line to join next. Romano claims a deal is “imminent”.

The Italian journalist tweeted: “Understand Al Hilal are finalising move to sign Aleksandar Mitrovic! Deal now imminent, waiting for final approval as formal bid has been sent. Mitrovic agreed terms with Al Hilal in July and he’s just waiting for Fulham green light to make it happen in the next hours.”

Fulham rejected a bid for Mitrovic last month which resulted in the striker refusing to train during his teammates’ trip to America for the Premier League Summer Series.

The 28-year-old was convinced to make a return and appeared as a 58th-minute substitute in Saturday’s 1-0 win at Everton. However, his exit is edging closer with Al Hilal’s improved £46m offer close to meeting the Cottagers’ asking price.

Marco Silva wants to keep Mitrovic, who scored 15 goals last season, but couldn’t guarantee he’ll stay.

“The market is open and everyone is looking for the strikers and they want the best,” Silva said. “If they want the best then you would look at Mitro. I cannot guarantee he will be with us until the end of the market because I cannot control the market. But we are ready if something happens even if something I don’t like what happens.”

Mitrovic had a mixed three-year stay on Tyneside after joining from Belgian club Anderlecht in a £13million deal in 2015. He scored nine goals and provided four assists in 36 appearances during his first season on Tyneside but was unable to prevent United from suffering relegation into the Championship.

He remained part of Rafa Benitez’s squad that bounced back into the Premier League at the first attempt but never seemed to fully earn the trust of the Spaniard and moved to Fulham on loan in January 2018.

Twelve goals and one assist helped the Cottagers to promotion into the top tier and earned Mitrovic a £22m permanent move to West London during the following summer.