Premier League club Chelsea are close to completing the signing of Ajax's Moroccan winger Hakim Ziyech, with media reports suggesting the deal will be worth £40 million (Dh190m).
Ziyech, 26, was one of Chelsea manager Frank Lampard's top January transfer targets and is now reportedly close to a summer switch to Stamford Bridge.
The Blues were unable to prise the creative midfielder away from Amsterdam in the January window, with Ajax refusing to sell midway through the season. But now the Chelsea board have made a crucial breakthrough that should lead to Lampard's first major signing since returning to Stamford Bridge to take charge as manager last summer.
Ziyech has assisted more than 20 goals in each of the last three seasons, and has created 21 assists for Ajax teammates already this term.
Chelsea's failure to sign any players in January prompted Lampard to suggest the club are now "underdogs" for a top-four Premier League finish.
But Chelsea's board refused to relent on their quest to recruit one of Ajax's top assets and are now close to completing terms to bring the former FC Twente star to Stamford Bridge.
The London club saw their Fifa transfer ban lifted on appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) one window early, but were unable to capitalise by making any mid-season recruits in January.
The Blues could receive as much as £150m from Eden Hazard's transfer to Real Madrid last summer, and Lampard wants to dip into those funds to bolster his youthful squad.
Ziyech's expected arrival will offer Lampard another youthful winger to call on, with 19-year-old Callum Hudson-Odoi and Christian Pulisic, 21, already vying for places. What the Morroccon's signing will mean for veterans Willian and Pedro - with both players' contracts set to expire this summer - is less clear.
