Port Vale are said to be closing in on the signing of Newcastle United defender Lewis Cass, as per a recent report by the Hartlepool Mail.

The young defender enjoyed a brilliant breakthrough campaign with Hartlepool United whilst on loan with the National League side as they claimed promotion back to the Football League via the play-offs and was wanted back for another loan spell at Victoria Park.

However it now appears that the player will instead be heading to Vale Park, with the report going on to state that Cass is set to have a medical with Port Vale ahead of completing a move to Hartlepool's Sky Bet League Two rivals.

Cass played 35 games across all competitions for the Monkey Hangers last term and was a standout performer under Dave Challinor as they made their return to the EFL.

The versatile defender currently has just one year remaining on his contract with Newcastle and will be looking to make a strong impact with Vale moving forwards.

The Verdict 

Hartlepool's loss will most certainly be Port Vale's gain, with Cass having performed superbly last season whilst on loan at Victoria Park.

I would expect that he won't look out of his depth at all in the Football League and for me there isn't much difference in quality between League Two and the National League in truth.

He is still only 21 and will continue to improve as he gets more and more experience under his belt.

Vale are a side who will be looking to push a lot higher up the league standings next season and I think this type of signing typifies the sort of ambitions that they have for the campaign ahead.

If they can follow this up with a few more additions, they could be a real threat to other sides in the division.