The Magpies’ recruitment team have identified Munoz as their preferred replacement for Anthony Gordon, who completed his move to Barcelona at the end of last month.
While the financial aspects of a potential deal for Munoz have not been formally agreed, sources claim there was significant progress in top-level talks between Newcastle and Osasuna officials at the end of last week.
Munoz’s contract at Osasuna contains a €40m (£34.5m) release clause, but while the Newcastle hierarchy are willing to put together a deal that will eventually reach that figure, they want some of the fee to be performance-related.
It is understood that Newcastle are willing to pay around £30m as an up-front figure, with Osasuna chiefs broadly happy with the package that has been proposed.
The La Liga club are also in talks with Real Madrid however, as Munoz’s former employers retain a proportion of his economic rights and are therefore due a percentage of whatever Osasuna receive for the 22-year-old.
Real have turned down the opportunity to re-sign Munoz for a knockdown fee, but are holding out for the best possible financial deal if he moves elsewhere, which Osasuna are having to factor into their discussions with Newcastle.
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Munoz’s presence in the Spain squad preparing for tomorrow’s World Cup opener against Cape Verde is an added complication, preventing Newcastle officials from holding direct face-to-face talks with the winger.
Spain’s management group are aware of the ongoing uncertainty over Munoz’s future, but were reportedly urging the youngster to put thoughts of his future to one side over the weekend in order to focus on tomorrow’s Group H opener in Atlanta.
While senior Newcastle officials have been in regular contact with Munoz’s representatives, they will not be able to formally complete a deal without holding direct talks with the player himself and somehow arranging a medical.
All of that could wait until the end of the World Cup, but Newcastle’s recruitment team, led by sporting director Ross Wilson, are mindful of the way in which so many targets slipped through their grasp last summer when rival clubs came to the table and made competing offers.
Newcastle have already seen one of this summer’s targets, Zadok Yohanna, opt for a move to Brighton, and if at all possible, they would like to reach a stage over Munoz where other clubs could no longer move in ahead of them.
Whether that is possible while the World Cup is ongoing remains to be seen, but having completed the signing of goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen last week, Newcastle officials remain hopeful of tying up another of their key summer deals sooner rather than later.
There has been further talk of another move for James Trafford in the last couple of days, but again, the Manchester City goalkeeper’s presence in the England squad in the United States makes it extremely difficult to complete a deal in the next few weeks.
Nevertheless, sources suggest the Newcastle hierarchy have been encouraged by suggestions that Trafford is keen to discuss a possible move to St James’ Park, having turned down a proposed move to Tyneside last summer in order to head to the Etihad.
Trafford is known to have been frustrated by his lack of Premier League opportunities with City last season, but the financial aspects of a move for the 23-year-old would present problems for Newcastle. Trafford received a major pay increase when he joined Manchester City from Burnley, and the Magpies would be looking to negotiate over both the goalkeeper’s wages and City’s asking price before agreeing to a deal.