Nabil Bentaleb has not played for Schalke since April

Newcastle are expected to conclude the signing of midfielder Nabil Bentaleb on loan from Schalke on Tuesday.

The Magpies will pay around £850,000 to bring the 25-year-old to St James' Park and will cover all of his wages - around £2.1m until the end of the season.

Newcastle will also have the option of making Bentaleb's move permanent for a fee of around £8.5m

Bentaleb, who began his career at Tottenham before moving to Schalke in 2016, underwent a medical on Tyneside on Monday.

He has not played for Schalke since April 2019 after being dropped from the first team for alleged unprofessional behaviour.

Newcastle are also still in talks for a similar deal - a loan with the option to buy - for Inter Milan's Valentino Lazaro.

The Austrian international, who can play anywhere on the right-hand side, only joined the Italian side from Hertha Berlin at the start of the season.

However, he has only started four games for Inter and Newcastle are now hopeful of taking him to St James' Park this month.

Last season, Nabil Bentaleb started 25 league games for Schalke and scored all three of his goals from the penalty spot

How to follow the January transfer window

Sky Sports will bring you the very latest news from the January transfer market with the return of three shows.

Start your day with Good Morning Transfers at 9am as our team of reporters bring you the latest news and insight. Transfer Talk then follows at midday delivering analysis of the biggest stories. Then join us at 7pm for the definitive round-up of the day's news with The Transfer Show.

Meanwhile, the Transfer Talk podcast is also back with more expert analysis from here and across the continent.

And as well as tuning into Sky Sports News, don't miss a thing with our dedicated Transfer Centre blog.