Newcastle United reportedly set to clinch Andreas Samaris....for a club record transfer fee

According to the Mirror, Rafa Benitez has been working on a huge deal for Benfica's Andreas Samaris for the past six weeks.

The midfielder was said to be high on David Moyes' shortlist whilst he managed Sunderland, but nothing was ever agreed with his Portuguese employers.

Samaris, who turned 28 this month, joined Benfica in 2014 from Olympiacos for £8.8million and has won three consecutive league titles.

Some fans may be perplexed by the size of the fee mentioned, especially given the fact that he is on the wrong side of 26 in terms of age. However, with Graham Carr having parted company with the club, Benitez has obtained total control of transfers, and this is even further proof of that.

Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images

Interestingly, the Mirror also claim that the deal is set to be concluded using "intermediary Cesar Boaventura, CEO of GIC England."

If the transfer is in fact as close as they believe, then we would hope to hear more on this by next week.