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Newcastle United have moved a step closer to landing FC Twente defender Douglas after the Dutch side made it clear that he would be allowed to leave at the end of the season.
According to a report in the Shields Gazette, the defender has held talks with manager Steve McClaren about leaving in the summer and the former England boss will not stand in his way.
The centre-back is out of contract at the end of the season and Twente do have an option to extend his deal by a further year, however, it seems they are prepared to let him leave as they have already identified a replacement.
The 24-year-old has never represented Brazil but has earned a reputation as one of the best defenders in Holland after making more than 100 league appearances for the club.
Douglas won the league title with Twente in 2010 and is a former team-mate of Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote who has adeptly superbly to life in the Premier League.
Newcastle have relied heavily on chief scout Graham Carr to find bargains and it seems the Eredivisie is his new target after bringing the likes of Yohan Cabaye, Hatem Ben Arfa and Sylvain Marveaux from French football.
The Gazette believes that a central defender is manager Alan Pardew's chief priority as in recent weeks he has been forced to play full-back James Perch in the middle because of injuries to Steven Taylor and Fabricio Coloccini.
