Newcastle United vs Manchester United: Steve McClaren confirms Henri Saivet undergoing medical

Newcastle United manager Steve McClaren has confirmed the club are on the brink of finalising a deal for Bordeaux midfielder Henri Saivet. Speaking to the press ahead of Tuesday's (12 January) Premier League clash with Manchester United, McClaren revealed the 25-year-old is currently on Tyneside undergoing a medical ahead of a move. Reports in France suggest a fee of £4m ($5.8m) has been agreed.

"He's in the building, when it's confirmed we will talk about his assets and what he will bring," McClaren said of the the Senegal international, the Newcastle Chronicle reports.

Bordeaux confirmed the deal themselves moments before McClaren's comments. Speaking in his own pre-match press conference, manager Willy Sagnol admitted a transfer is in place for Saivet, a player who he has converted from a winger into a central midfielder this season.

Speaking to reporters, Sagnol paid tribute to the player he described as the "the most important for the first six months" of the 2015-16 season.

"Henri wanted to leave the club and needed a new challenge. He was here for a long time," Sagnol said.

Newcastle have also been heavily linked with a move for Swansea City's Jonjo Shelvey. The Guardian report a £10m offer has been made for the former Liverpool midfielder, but McClaren refused to discuss the reports in his press conference.

While Saivet and possibly Shelvey are to arrive at St James' Park, Adam Armstrong will not return to the club and looks set to extend his spell on loan at Coventry City.

The 18-year-old has enjoyed a prolific season at the League One outfit, scoring 16 goals so far and Coventry boss Tony Mowbray expects a deal to be finalised soon.

"It's looking pretty hopeful, one or two things need to be ratified but I'd be pretty disappointed if it didn't happen now. Hopefully in the next day or two," Mowbray said, the Coventry Telegraph reports.

"Mark Venus [Coventry's technical director] is dealing with that and we're very hopeful in the face of what I would have to say is a lot of competition from Championship clubs offering to pay a lot of money for his services."