Newcastle United are set to raid Championship side Nottingham Forest for young duo Jamaal Lascelles and Karl Darlow.
Manager Alan Pardew has insisted that Newcastle are not finished in the transfer market, despite already signing seven players this summer, costing approximately £32m.
Lascelles has been linked with a host of Premier League clubs in recent transfer windows and it seems that Pardew is keen to beat rivals Queens Park Rangers, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur for the England U20 international’s signature.
The Magpies are hoping their £3m bid is enough to convince Forest manager Stuart Pearce to part ways with the promising central defender.
Pearce has been bracing himself for a bid for Lascelles and has ensured that he has plenty of defensive options should the 20-year-old leave the City Ground.
However, Forest have already turned down a £4m deal that was put on the table by QPR and it seems that Newcastle will have to dig deeper into their pockets if they are to seal a deal for the highly-rated defender.
The Premier League side are willing to let both Lascelles and goalkeeper Darlow go back to Nottingham on loan, to make sure that they win the race for his signature.
Lascelles is a product of the Forest academy and has been a first team regular for the last year and a half, whilst 23-year old Darlow joined the Championship side in 2010 from Aston Villa.