Newcastle United have settled on a £6.7 million fee with Montpellier for defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa.
The Mail on Sunday says personal terms are yet to be finalised.
Central defender Yanga-Mbiwa, 23, would add strength to a rearguard which has struggled to keep sides at bay so far this season, and with speculation that skipper Fabricio Coloccini could leave Tyneside this month because of personal problems, his arrival could hardly come at a better time.