Blackburn Rovers have agreed a deal to sign midfielder Moussa Baradji, The Lancashire Telegraph understands.
The midfielder has flown into England and is undergoing a medical, alongside defender Ryan Alebiosu, ahead of a permanent move from Yverdon Sport FC, who were relegated from the Swiss top-flight last season.
The fee is unknown at this stage but the 24-year-old was recently linked with the likes of Celtic and Sunderland. Those reports touted a potential deal in the region of £2.5million.
Baradji is French-born but has Malian heritage. He came through the ranks in France before an impressive year in Italy earned him the move to Yverdon. Despite their relegation from Switzerland's top tier, he was the star player and caught the eye of several clubs.
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Baradji is a box-to-box midfielder and will add further athleticism to Valerien Ismael's options. It is an area of the squad that is beginning to look bloated with plenty of options. Rovers view him as an alternative to Brian De Keersmaecker, who they were interested in, but he joined Oxford United.
Lewis Travis and Sondre Tronstad were the first-choice options last season, with Sidnei Tavares signing and Adam Forshaw penning a new deal to further beef up the competition. Add in Baradji, John Buckley and Jake Garrett and departures seem inevitable before the end of the transfer window.
Ismael, of course, could play with a three-man midfield too. Rovers only have Todd Cantwell as a natural attacking midfielder but there is the option to change the system to accommodate more number eights.
Equally, there remains uncertainty over the futures of Sondre Tronstad and Lewis Travis. Both players have one year left on their deals but the club want them to stay.
As reported earlier this week by The Lancashire Telegraph, it's highly unlikely Tronstad will depart this summer, regardless of negotiations. There is more interest in Travis with three Championship clubs enquiring for his services, but he's not pushing for a move at this stage either.
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