Tottenham are ready to pay £20m for Paris St-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot, The Sun say.
It follows reports in France that Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino wants the France international and has held talks with him.
Rabiot’s contract at PSG is due to expire at the end of the season and he has long been linked with a move to the Premier League.
The Sun say Barcelona have made him a pre-contract offer but that nothing has been signed and that PSG would rather accept £20m for him before Thursday’s deadline than lose him on a free transfer this summer.
The newspaper also suggests that Spurs’ chances could in part depend on whether Everton are willing to sell Idrissa Gueye.
It is claimed that PSG want a replacement before letting Rabiot go and that Gueye is their top target.
Pochettino confirmed at a press conference on Friday that injury-hit Spurs are looking into the possibility of making a signing.
“Always, we’ll see. Still six days. We are working. (We have) a few options,” he said.
“We’ll see if we are capable of delivering, but in the same way of course we have the squad.
“We are always hoping to try to add quality and try to improve the squad.”