Norwich City are on the brink of making their second signing this month, by completing the capture of Aberdeen midfielder Kenny McLean.
However, the midfielder will have to wait until the summer to join up with his new team-mates in England.
City head coach Daniel Farke intimated on Friday that as things stood, he wanted to bring in two players during the remainder of the January transfer window – as well as one more with a view to next season.
And sources in Scotland have confirmed McLean – who turned 26 earlier this month – is set to sign a three and a half-year deal with the Canaries, while returning to the Dons on loan for the rest of the season.
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McLean has been linked with a switch to Norwich and Glasgow giants Rangers during most of the winter window, and was set to be out of contract at the end of this season.
He had previously indicated he was not interested in signing a new deal with the Dons, something that alerted a number of clubs to McLean's availability this month.
Rangers made a £300,000 summer bid and had been expected to lead the substantial January competition for McLean, who has been at Pittodrie since joining from St Mirren in 2015.
While a pre-contract deal appears to have been off the table, the Canaries have agreed to pay a fee – reportedly up to £200,000 – to tie up McLean's signature ahead of becoming a free agent. That is considerably less than the initially reported bid of £500,000 last week.
McLean joins attacking midfielder Marcus Edwards, who became City's first senior recruit of the month after joining on loan from Tottenham last week until the end of the season – although the two men appear destined not to play in the same Norwich side.
The Canaries are already braced for midfield exits in the summer, with Alex Tettey out of contract and on-loan Harrison Reed due to return to Southampton.
A powerful central midfielder, McLean played alongside James Maddison during the latter's loan spell north of the border for the first half of last season.
He also has two Scotland caps, coming in friendlies against Czech Republic and the Netherlands following his debut in 2016.
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