Aston Villa are chasing Nurnberg's Japanese star Hiroshi Kiyotake.
The Mirror says manager Paul Lambert was impressed by his performances at the London Olympics and was first linked with the player last month, but the Germans are reluctant to sell for less than £10million.
Kiyotake, who has played 19 times for Japan, scored four times and had 10 assists during his debut season in the Bundesliga.
For the big stories and the banter follow us on Twitter: @tribalfootball