Tottenham Hotspur are pursuing Yann M'Vila as a potential central midfield replacement for Luka Modric.
The young France international has been made available by Rennes, and Tottenham have proposed a transfer fee of €12 million (Dh54m).
While M'Vila was not the first choice of Spurs' new manager Andre Villas-Boas to succeed Modric - whose move to Real Madrid has stalled over Tottenham's £40m (Dh228m) asking price - the English Premier League club believe the 22 year old could be acquired for less than half the sum Porto want for Joao Moutinho.
M'Vila's value has declined markedly since the 2010/11 season when he broke into the France national side and was nominated for Ligue 1's Young Player of the Year award.
He was booed by Rennes supporters during a French Cup tie, while concerns about his attitude and off-field behaviour have been expressed by scouts from Champions League clubs, including Arsenal.
His physical and technical ability are unquestioned, however, with salary demands within Tottenham's pay scale. The major stumbling block for Villas-Boas is M'Vila's desire to move to a club already qualified for the Champions League, and Tottenham are treating their approach with a degree of caution as a result.
Tottenham open their Premier League campaign away to Newcastle United on Saturday and Villas-Boas has been frustrated that his first pre-season at the club has been conducted with just one experienced striker, Jermain Defoe, in his squad.
The Portuguese also hoped to have a new midfielder of his own choosing available to him by now.
An offer has been made to Internacional for Leandro Damiao, with Tottenham still confident the purchase of Brazil's first-choice centre forward can be completed before their Premier League campaign kicks off.
The Brazilian club, however, are conscious that the 23 year old's impressive Olympics performances could elicit a superior offer.
Modric has four years left on his contract at White Hart Lane but wants to join Real after being prevented from making a lucrative switch to Chelsea last summer.
The Croatia international has been training apart from Villas-Boas's squad in recent days, but has been warned he may have to reintegrate with his teammates.
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