Tammy Abraham is edging closer to joining Aston Villa with optimism from all parties that a deal can be done in the coming days.
The former Chelsea forward is currently on a season's loan at Besiktas from Roma but is a favourite of Villa boss Unai Emery, who has made him a priority target for the winter window.
Besiktas have been reluctant to allow Abraham to leave and while there are still some hurdles to overcome, optimism is a growing that the 28-year-old can be a Villa player next week.
Emery has been desperate to add another No9 to compete with Ollie Watkins and he allowed Donyell Malen to join Roma earlier this month.
Abraham had a successful spell on loan at Villa, when he helped them return to the Premier League in 2019, and was keen to move back when he learned of their interest.
A striker is not the only position Emery would like to strengthen this month.
With Boubacar Kamara possibly absent for the rest of the season and John McGinn also injured, Villa need midfielders and have considered both Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who played with Abraham at Chelsea and AC Milan, as well as Douglas Luiz, who left Villa for Juventus in 2024 and is now on loan at Nottingham Forest.
Forest had also shown interest in Abraham but the forward made it clear he would prefer to move to Villa.