Southampton have agreed a deal with Newcastle to sign former Arsenal and England goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, Saints Marching understands.
The deal is an outstanding one for Southampton as all of Ramsdale's £120,000 per week in wages will be covered by the Magpies in addition to a £4 million up front fee.
Newcastle will reserve the option to buy next summer although Southampton owner Dragan Solak has expressed a desire to bring the shot-stopper back to St Mary's if Saints can get back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Ramsdale wants to be in contention for the England World Cup squad
Ramsdale's departure comes just a year after joining from Arsenal for an initial fee of £18 million. Now he is believed to be keen on a high profile move to put himself back in contention for Thomas Tuchel's England World Cup squad.
Ramsdale has suffered the ignominy of being relegated from the Premier League three times, with Southampton, Sheffield United and Bournemouth.
The five-cap England international will team up again with his former Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe on Tyneside hoping to take advantage of an opening caused by Nick Pope's injury and a breakdown in negotiations between Newcastle and Manchester City over James Trafford. City have enacted a matching clause meaning that they were able to re-sign the Burnley keeper for an initial £27 million.
Southampton weekly wage bill reduced by 13% upon Ramsdale sale
Ramsdale currently costs Southampton 13.01% of their entire player salaries. This has been a crippling outlay for a club who have been relegated and are looking to cut their cloth accordingly while remaining competitive.
Southampton may choose not to replace Ramsdale as Gavin Bazunu has been in great form during pre-season. Southampton fans have been divided over Bazunu, so his early form could be crucial to his future.
In addition to Bazunu, Saints have stalwart Alex McCarthy and newly signed youngster Dylan Moody to call upon. The Daily Echo's George Rees-Julian has already compiled a list of five potential replacements for Ramsdale of which Sunderland's Anthony Patterson is perhaps the most likely.
As Ramsdale touches down in South Korea, Saints fans should console themselves with the understanding that the pressure on wages has been greatly reduced. There was never any point in having an international class goalkeeper between the posts in the Championship.
With luck, Ramsdale will be a success on Tyneside and become an even more valuable asset if he returns next summer.