US President Donald Trump invited UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to visit him in the White House in the new year, according to reports on Sunday.

Trump’s invitation was made after the British prime minister’s election win this month, The Sunday Times newspaper reported.

Britain wants to strike a new trade deal with the United States after it leaves the European Union at the end of January.

“Some potential dates have been floated in mid-January but nothing has yet been formally agreed. But it is clear that both sides want to make it happen sometime in early 2020,” the Sunday Times quoted a source close to the White House as saying.

A spokesman for Johnson’s Downing Street office said the reports were “speculation”. “We will respond to any formal invitation, but anything less than that is speculation,” he said.

Last week, UK has an option to extend the transition but Johnson refuses to, and intends to enshrine the 2020 date in legislation, PM Johnson’s office said.

The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said the bloc would “do the maximum” to try to agree on a new partnership by the 2020 deadline, and avoid a highly disruptive “no-deal” divorce.

After Johnson claimed huge victory, European leaders will charge EU negotiator Michel Barnier with negotiating a close trade deal with Britain.

A landslide Conservative win would mark the ultimate failure of opponents of Brexit who plotted to thwart a 2016 referendum vote through legislative combat in parliament and prompted some of the biggest protests in recent British history.

Johnson was re-elected Prime Minister following his landslide victory in the December 12 general election, deemed as one the UK’s most decisive and crucial.

Johnson is reluctant to make the visit before delivering Brexit on Jan. 31 and would prefer to go after a cabinet reshuffle scheduled in February when he is expected to appoint cabinet office minister Michael Gove as his new trade negotiator, The Mail on Sunday reported.

Earlier this month, Trump took to Twitter and said, “This deal has the potential to be far bigger and more lucrative than any deal that could be made with the EU”.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the reported invitation to Johnson.

(With inputs from agency)