Arsenal could be set to make an £8million move for Croatia international Luka Modric.
The Dinamo Zagreb midfielder's advisers spent two days in England earlier this week speaking to Premier League clubs, including the Gunners.
Bayern Munich, Werder Bremen and Ajax have also expressed an interest in Modric, who was in the same losing Zagreb team knocked out of the Champions League by Arsenal this time last year, but sources close to the player say he would prefer a move to the Premier League.
The 21-year-old has told Dinamo officials that he would rather stay in Zagreb for now while they are still in the Champions League, but he is a close friend and former team-mate of Eduardo Da Silva, who joined Arsenal from Dinamo last month.
He fits the bill perfectly for manager Arsene Wenger, who claims he is "not sleeping" as he seeks to refurbish his squad before the end of the transfer window.
As a playmaker who can play centrally or on the left flank, Modric would help fill the hole in Wenger's squad in the wide positions following the summer departures of Freddie Ljungberg and Jose Reyes.
Although Emmanuel Eboue has been promoted to the right side of midfield in a few pre-season games to make way for the new right-back Bacary Sagna, Arsenal's squad is still short of options on the flanks.
