Joshua is to fight Wilder in January and Whyte on August 12

 Boxing promoter  Eddie Hearn has told Boxing News that an agreement is almost in place to see former world champions Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder face off.

Hearn also confirmed the fight is being targeted for either December or January in Saudi Arabia.

“In our meetings with Saudi on Thursday, we virtually have a deal agreed in principle subject to final discussions on stuff”, said Hearn.

“We’ll see them again on Monday, I think we’re in a good place.”

Joshua is set to return for his second fight of the year on August 12th following a unanimous decision win against Jermaine Franklin in April.

The fight was his first since consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk who claimed Joshua’s old unified heavyweight titles in the process.

Old rival Dillian Whyte remains the frontrunner for the date as he looks to tie down a rematch with Joshua following his seventh-round defeat to the 33-year-old in 2015.

Sky Sports reported that Whyte had signed his side of the deal, although Hearn told Boxing News on Saturday that he was unsure whether Whyte would, in fact, be the opponent in six weeks' time.

Whyte is understood to have signed his contract for a rematch with Joshua next month. Photo by Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing.

Wilder meanwhile made his ring return in October after back-to-back defeats to WBC king Tyson Fury and annihilated Robert Helenius with a sensational first-round knockout.

The Alabama man is also looking to get a fight in before a potential showdown with ‘AJ’ and has fired multiple shots in the direction of former champion and PBC stablemate Andy Ruiz Jnr in recent weeks.

Wilder however told 78SPORTSTV that the Joshua fight may indeed be his next bout if a deal can’t be reached with Ruiz Jnr soon.

Both Joshua and Wilder’s teams were locked in intense negotiations four years ago with both men holding all four heavyweight titles between them at the time.