Explained: Why Aston Villa must still tread carefully in transfer market despite midfielder's imminent £44m exit

The midfielder is due to travel to the north-east on Thursday to undergo a medical and finalise personal terms with the Magpies, who visit Villa Park on the opening day of the Premier League season.

Ramsey’s signing would need to be registered by noon on Friday in order for him to appear in the fixture against Villa.

The 24-year-old will become the club’s first high-profile departure this summer, with his sale helping them comply with Uefa’s financial fair play rules.

As part of the deal, Villa are due to receive a guaranteed £39m, with possible further £5m in add-ons for a player who first joined their academy at the age of six.

But while the sale will be banked as pure profit in the accounts, it is not expected to permit the club much extra wriggle room in this summer’s window, owing to their position with the Uefa rules.

Villa were fined £9.5m for breaching the regulations and have agreed a settlement with the governing body which will see their spending closely monitored over the next three seasons.

Should they breach the agreement, they risk being hit with more fines or even being banned from European competition completely.

Villa, who will compete in this season’s Europa League, have so far signed goalkeeper Marco Bizot and forward Evann Guessand this summer, the latter of whom arrived from Nice for an initial £23.5m earlier in the summer.

Boss Unai Emery is still keen to bring back Marco Asensio, with another loan almost certainly Villa’s only option. Another defender is also desired, with the club looking to move other fringe players off the books before the deadline to maximise their spending power.

Winger Leon Bailey is in talks over a season-long loan move to Roma, while Leander Dendoncker and Alex Moreno are also free to leave for the right price.

Right-back Andres Garcia, who signed from Levante in January, has also been attracting interest from clubs in Spain.