Newcastle United have agreed a deal to bring Ewen Jaouen to Tyneside, with a fee of £24.2m and a four-year contract. The Reims youngster is expected to challenge a more senior counterpart at St James' Park. Newcastle, with late interest from two clubs in France beaten away by the Magpies, convinced Jaouen he will be given a chance to impress on the big stage. Jaouen would NOT be expecting to arrive from France's Ligue 2 as No 1, but Newcastle's goalkeeper department currently has a question mark above it, and the make-up of the rebuild was set to play a key role in Jaouen deciding his next move. Newcastle made the decision to opt against signing Aaron Ramsdale this week and sent the England international back to his parent club Southampton. That, along with the release of John Ruddy on a free transfer, has cleared the decks for an incoming goalkeeper with another more senior star expected to sign. A club statement read this week: "Goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale will return to parent club Southampton following the culmination of his season - long loan. Ramsdale featured 23 times in all competitions for the Magpies this season. "All players depart the club with the thanks and best wishes for the future from everybody at Newcastle United." Speaking on signing younger stars, Howe said: "I think there are things within our game model that we would look to evolve. And certainly, there will be a part of the squad that will change - that always happens going into transfer windows whether there's players leaving players joining. "So that's always, you know, exciting. And of course, you know, how we play and that changes every season anyway."