Tottenham Hotspur are pressing ahead with plans to try and buy a number eight with Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher still top of the list.
The next target comes after Spurs finally agreed a fee to sign Genoa centre-back Radu Dragusin.
The £30m move for the Romanian defender means Ange Postecoglou has secured two of his three targets for this window, after completing a loan deal for Leipzig’s Timo Werner.
It has made Spurs by far the busiest club in a surprisingly quiet window so far, but they now want to secure a midfielder in the break between Sunday's trip to Manchester United and the FA Cup fourth round game against Manchester City.
Postecoglou wants a running midfielder who can play at the head of midfield but also alternate with James Maddison if required.
Gallagher has been the player who best fits the profile, and Chelsea are willing to do a deal for the right price.
That could be up to £50m, although there are more potential complications. Gallagher has emerged as one of the players Mauricio Pochettino most trusts for his tactical ideas, and he is seen as one of the few in the squad currently ideal for the Argentine's 4-3-3 system.
So many others still need honing in the system, and Pochettino is reluctant to let such a player go during such an inconsistent period of results so early in his time.
For his own part, Gallagher is enjoying the greater responsibility at Chelsea, having captained the side in the absence of Reece James and Ben Chilwell.
Dragusin's move was virtually secured after drawn-out negotiations overnight on Wednesday, with Genoa initially unmoving from a hard price of £30m.
