Middlesbrough's proposed transfer deal for Álvaro Negredo is still some way from being complete, though some terms have been broadly agreed.
The Gazette claim that Boro will look to take Negredo on an initial season-long loan deal, with a non-binding transfer clause of €10 million at the end of the term.
Huge wages pose stumbling block
However, the player's astronomical wages - at €134,000/week, they are one of the main reasons his club Valencia want to move him on - are posing a stumbling block, with Middlesbrough unwilling to pick up the bulk of this.
Valencia still owe some outstanding payments to former club Manchester City, on top of his basic wages and performance bonuses, but the Teessiders are not prepared to cover these fees.
Negredo plundered 23 goals in his solitary season in the blue half of Manchester, and manager Aitor Karanka is keen to add him to Boro's growing list of impressive transfer recruits. However, the former Real Madrid man will continue to work on alternative attacking targets.
Boro determined to make a statement
After the big-money arrival of Marten de Roon and the free-transfer signing of Víctor Valdés, Boro have already brought in five new faces ahead of their return to the Premier League.
They followed Viktor Fischer, Bernardo Espinosa and Jordan McGhee through the doors at Rockliffe Park, as Karanka and chairman Steve Gibson look to begin their ambitious plans for the top flight.
While the immediate target will simply be to avoid relegation back to the Championship, Middlesbrough are more ambitious than that and will be looking to cement their newly on Premier League status in the coming seasons.
In that vein, Boro are also optimistic of concluding deals for Neven Subotić, Gastón Ramírez and Antonio Barragán in the near future.