Norwich City and Marseille have agreed a deal that will see winger Jonathan Rowe move to the south of France.
The England U21 international is now poised to complete an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy to move to the 10-time French champions.
The finishing touches are being put on a deal that will see Norwich earn a guaranteed £14m, including a loan fee, as well as a potential £3m worth of add-ons based on both player and club performance. City have also inserted a 25pc sell-on clause into the deal.
Once completed, Marseille, Rowe, or City will be unable to break out of the deal—but the payment will be delayed until next summer owing to cashflow and accounting reasons at the French club's end.
Rowe is set to travel to Marseille to complete the formalities of his move, with an expectation that a move will be officially completed this week. The winger is understood to have officially said his goodbyes at Colney on Wednesday.
It will draw the end of a long-running saga triggered initially by Rowe's withdrawal from the matchday squad on the opening day of the Championship campaign. The winger informed Johannes Hoff Thorup that he wasn't motivated to play just 20 minutes prior to the team meeting on matchday.
He has subsequently been banished to the U21s and kept away from the first-team group whilst talks between the parties continued. Leeds were also interest in Rowe, whilst Monaco and Rennes are also thought to have admired him.
Norwich will head into the market to source a replacement and work has already begun on a list of three targets - but, contrary to reports, it's understood that Burnley's Manuel Benson and Grenoble's Lenny Joseph aren't amongst those being considered.
City are close to finalising the signing of Roclaw striker Ante Crnac, the Croatian youth international has travelled to the UK and is set to undergo the first part of his medical on Wednesday.
Providing there are no issues during that medical examination, the 20-year-old is set to become their fifth signing of the summer and could feature in Saturday's Carrow Road clash against Sheffield United.
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