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Aleksandar Mitrovic's family have landed on Tyneside as Newcastle tie up a deal for the Serbian striker .

Anderlecht are willing to do business at £12million and club officials are now convincing Mitrovic and relatives that Newcastle is the best place for him. Both Porto and Roma have been pursuing him, but the Steve McClaren era is finally swinging into life as Mitrovic is poised to sign a five-year deal.

He will join midfielder Giorginio Wijnaldum – who underwent a medical on Friday – as Toon’s first summer signings.

Owner Mike Ashley is pledging to splash around £60m before next season gets underway and the promise of all cash being paid up front should encourage more clubs to do business with Newcastle.

Wijnaldum’s fee from PSV Eindhoven was £14.5m - but Newcastle will not stop there with at least three more additions expected in the next month.

QPR front-man Charlie Austin remains on the radar with Marseille’s Florian Thauvin. And they are pushing ahead with a move for German defender Antonio Rudiger.

(Image: Getty)

They are hopeful the 22-year-old Stuttgart star will choose them over Wolfsburg.

They are willing to let Fabricio Coloccini leave, if the right offer comes along.

However, there has been a change of heart with goalkeeper Tim Krul, who had looked likely to be sold.

They will now offer Krul, 27, a contract extension.

Slovenian attacking midfielder Haris Vuckic is likely to leave, with Bolton showing interest.

As a new era is ushered in and the club head off on a pre-season trip to America tomorrow, Toon have a manager full of hope that the nightmare of last season’s scrap is now behind them.

(Image: Mark Runnacles)

McClaren said: “It’s good here. Most places, you come in and you’ve got a lot of work to do.

“Now I’m on the inside of the club, it’s better than I thought when I was on the outside. It was a pleasant surprise.

“The remit is very, very clear and that’s the best thing. The first time I met Steve Gibson at Middlesbrough, he told me the objective straight away and Mike Ashley told millions of people on TV what the objectives are here.

“It’s much better to be sitting down with the players and saying we’ve got to win something and get in the top eight. That’s a lot different from saying, ‘We’ve got stay in the league’.

“He said it and that’s great. It took Middlesbrough 128 years to win a trophy – we won’t have to wait that long!’’

(Image: Getty)

McClaren is relishing the prospect of derby duels with old adversary Dick Advocaat.

The new Toon boss and Sunderland counterpart Advocaat are at the centre of one of the game’s great rivalries.

They need no introduction after McClaren’s two spells in Holland at FC Twente when Advocaat was in charge of AZ Alkmaar and PSV Eindhoven.

McClaren said: “The Dutch produce good coaches and he’s one of them. I’m looking forward to crossing swords with him again.” McClaren has taken on his biggest challenge since an ill-starred, 18-month stint as England boss ended with his sacking in November 2007.

McClaren said: “Weallknowthis is a huge club. I’ve been in the area and always wanted to work at this club.”