Nottingham Forest are pushing to complete a club record £30 million swoop for Ibrahim Sangare, the PSV Eindhoven midfielder.
Sangare has been Forest’s No 1 target this summer as the club’s new No 6 in defensive midfield, and owner Evangelos Marinakis is battling to finalise his signing before Friday’s deadline.
The Ivory Coast international has a £32 million release clause at PSV, who moved into the Champions League group stages with their win over Rangers on Wednesday night, but Forest are working to agree a slightly lower fee. They have been in dialogue with PSV over a possible deal for weeks, with Marinakis even inviting the player’s representatives out to his base in Athens for talks this month.
Paris St-Germain and Liverpool have also shown interest in Sangare, 25, this summer but have moved on, which has encouraged Forest to continue negotiating over a club record signing.
Head coach Steve Cooper’s other targets for what he regards as a key role have been Tyler Adams - who moved to Bournemouth from Leeds United - Leicester City’s Wilfred Ndidi and Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana, but Sangare has always remained the lead option.
Forest are still hopeful of concluding a deal, which will eclipse the initial £25 million paid for Morgan Gibbs-White last summer. Personal terms for Sangare are not expected to be an issue, with Forest ready to offer him a substantial pay increase to play in the Premier League.
It will now come down to whether Sangare wishes to move to England, or stay with PSV and the guarantee of Champions League football.
Nuno Tavares and Murillo are set to be confirmed as Forest’s latest additions, while a deal for Chelsea’s Callum Hudson-Odoi has been lined up in the event of Brennan Johnson leaving for Tottenham Hotspur.
Forest are also working on exits for fringe players including Jonjo Shelvey, Emmanuel Dennis, Ethan Horvath, Jonathan Panzo and Harry Arter.
Cooper said: “We would all like to add the right players to our squad and every manager will tell you that.
“If there’s things to do that can help us, then of course we will look to do that. There’s a lot of work going on and if we get the opportunity to strengthen and reshape the squad, we’ll be up for it, but it’s easier said than done.”
Forest travel to Chelsea in the Premier League this weekend.