Newcastle United transfer 'called off' as Aston Villa strike verbal agreement with 31-year-old

According to reports in Turkey, Jose Mourinho’s side have reached a verbal agreement with Aston Villa to sign Diego Carlos, who is already said to have agreed personal terms.

The Turkish giants initially moved for Kelly earlier this week with vice-president Acun Ilicali speaking openly about their desire to agree a deal.

"We are currently negotiating a purchase of Lloyd Kelly," Ilicali, who also owns Hull City, told FutbolArena. “We are interested in him, and if we can reach an agreement (with Newcastle) we will bring him in."

Newcastle, however, rejected the offer, which was rumoured to be £11million. Indeed, the public nature of Fenerbahce’s approach left Eddie Howe & Co miffed.

"Lloyd has not talked to me about leaving the football club,” Howe told reporters ahead of the Premier League clash against AFC Bournemouth.

“I think he's only just joined and I think there's an understanding from his perspective that he's got to earn the right to play and prove that he deserves to play ahead of other players.

"So he’s been absolutely no issue. He's been great to work with and I knew he would be. He's waiting for his opportunities, so there's no issue with Lloyd at all.

“Whatever rumours you're hearing are club driven from Fenerbahce and not from the player so I want to make that very clear. Lloyd's an important part of what we're doing, he’s recently joined and we’re enjoying working with him.”

Fenerbahce’s pursuit of Carlos, a former Newcastle transfer target, suggests they have moved on from their short pursuit of Kelly.

The 25-year-old has struggled for game time since arriving on a free transfer from Bournemouth in the summer. Kelly has started four of United’s 21 Premier League matches - his last being the 2-0 defeat at home to West Ham United in November.