Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert is determined to sign Nurnberg's £10m-rated midfielder Hiroshi Kiyotake.
The Daily Star says Lambert has made Japan international Kiyotake one of his main summer targets.
He knows he will have to slash the club's wage bill by shipping out the likes of Darren Bent, Shay Given and Stephen Ireland before making a move.
Kiyotake, 23, has played 18 times for his country and impressed at the London Olympics.
Kiyotake has three years left on his contract at Nuremberg after joining the German club last year.
