Victor Munoz rejects Premier League big hitters in favour of Newcastle - Report

Newcastle United fans are now just waiting for something official to confirm that Victor Munoz is heading to Tyneside.

Reports from Spain and the UK insist that the deal is close to being completed after Newcastle and Osasuna agreed a fee that, with add-ons, will meet the £34m release clause threshold.

The deal has been complicated slightly by Real Madrid, who still own 50% of the 22-year-old's contract. Real Madrid also have a buy-back clause in his contract but opted not to activate it; instead, they will receive around £15 million from the sale, but they have also managed to convince Newcastle to put in another buy-back option in the transfer. That will be active for 12 months.

Despite that, everything is thought to be moving in the right direction. It has been reported that the reason Madrid didn't activate their option to buy back Munoz this summer is that both Osasuna and Munoz wanted the Newcastle deal, according to the latest report from Spanish outlet AS.

Victor Munoz wanted Newcastle

AS also claims that Newcastle wasn't the only Premier League club sniffing around Munoz this summer, and the Spanish international had a big choice to make.

Liverpool and Manchester United both made contact over a move for the winger, but he opted to join Newcastle.

Munoz felt that the offer from Newcastle was the strongest and hinted that working under Eddie Howe was a big factor.

Newcastle beat the Big Six to a player!

It's not often Newcastle can beat the Big Six sides to a transfer, so we're taking this as a huge sign that things are moving in the right direction again.

It may literally come down to Newcastle being more willing to offer him regular playing time, but whatever it was doesn't matter; the fact is Newcastle is finally finding ways to convince players to turn down the established order and take a chance.

Spain play their first World Cup game today at 5pm. We doubt Munoz will start, but we may get to see our potential new signing in action if he comes off the bench.