Town and Málaga have agreed a €300,000 (£200,000) deal for central defender César Navas, according to reports in Spain.

Negotiations have been ongoing with the Segunda División side for the last couple of weeks regarding the 27-year-old's proposed move, with the deal likely to have been settled late yesterday afternoon.

The Blues will pay an initial up front fee of €100,000 (£68,000) with another €100,000 due after the defender's 10th appearance and a further €100,000 on his 15th. Town initially offered a straight €150,000 (£100,000) for the former Real Madrid B defender.

Navas refused to speak to the Spanish papers after a Málaga training session yesterday, but apparently made it clear that a deal was done and that he would be on his way to England, where he has been keen to play for some while.

Personal terms are not thought to be a problem and were discussed with his agent during chief executive Derek Bowden's trip to Spain last week. Navas is a close friend of former Málaga team-mate Pablo Couñago.

The 6ft 4in tall defender impressed the Town management during a trial spell at Portman Road in pre-season but broke the third metatarsal on his right foot during the friendly at Crawley. The injury is expected to keep him out of action until the end of September or beginning of October.

Málaga, currently in a Spanish version of administration, are eager to offload Navas's La Liga-sized wages — his salary makes up a seventh of their overall wage bill — and bring in some cash in order to strengthen their side for the season ahead.

In January, Málaga sent Navas out on loan to Gimnàstic de Tarragona, where the defender recorded an unfortunate double of a second successive relegation from the Spanish top flight, Málaga having been demoted a season earlier.

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