Tottenham Hotspur are leading Liverpool in the race to sign to the £30m-rated Brazilian midfielder Willian.
The proposed signing is likely to clear the way for Gareth Bale to join Real Madrid, who have offered £85m for the Welsh winger, money Spurs already appear to be spending. Reports suggest that Willian may already be in London having a medical.
This would be the third time Spurs have broken their transfer record this summer after paying £26m for the Spanish striker Roberto Soldado and £17m for the Brazilian midfielder Paulinho.
Willian joined the Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala in the winter transfer window from Shakhtar Donetsk for £30m but has become a high-profile casualty of swingeing cuts in the club's budget recently announced by their billionaire owner, Suleyman Kerimov.
Tottenham tried to sign the player then, with their chairman, Daniel Levy, flying to Ukraine in January to negotiate a deal with Shakhtar before the move collapsed.
