Tottenham Hotspur have made a late attempt to try to snatch the MK Dons midfielder Dele Alli from under the noses of Aston Villa and Newcastle United. There is also growing confidence at White Hart Lane that Spurs have won the race to sign the central defender Winston Reid from fierce rivals West Ham in the summer.
Villa remain hopeful of landing Alli, 18, on a deal that will see him stay at MK Dons for the rest of the season after rivalling Newcastle's interest in the player. But Spurs have matched the bids lodged by Villa and Newcastle, leaving Alli with a tough decision to make on the final day of the transfer window.
Daniel Levy, the Tottenham chairman, has a history of trying to snap up the best young British talent, -having signed the likes of Gareth Bale, Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone and Jermaine Jenas in the past
Villa also have a good recent history of bringing through young English talent and will hope Fabian Delph's decision to commit his future to the club will send out a strong signal to Alli.
The Villa manager, Paul Lambert, said: "I know the young kid you are talking about, there are a few young lads who I think are really good. We are not near at the moment."
Alli has already held talks with Newcastle, but uncertainty over the long-term manager's position at St James' Park may count against the North-East club.
Reid is out of contract at the end of the season and is believed to have agreed a pounds 60,000-a-week contract in principle to make the controversial move to Spurs in the summer. The New Zealand international is not allowed to sign a formal pre-contract agreement with an English club, but sources close to the deal believe he is set for Tottenham.
Arsenal and Liverpool had also considered bids for Reid and a move to White Hart Lane will anger West Ham fans.
Other than attempting to sign Alli and clinch an agreement on Reid, Tottenham's final-day transfer business may well revolve more around outgoings than incomings. Spurs are desperate to find a club willing and able to take Emmanuel Adebayor on loan until the end of the season and cover his pounds 100,000 wages.
Mauricio Pochettino, the head coach, is still interested in Southamp-ton's Jay Rodriguez, despite the fact the forward is yet to return from his long-term knee injury.
With Burnley insisting that they will not sell Danny Ings before the window shuts, Tottenham will make a fresh inquiry for Rodriguez.
Spurs also remain interested in Kevin Mirallas, who they inquired about earlier this month, but Everton have so far shown no indication they will sell before the window shuts.
Queens Park Rangers, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace have all inquired about -Adebayor, but face a major battle to convince the striker to move to another Premier League club.
Paris St-Germain held talks over Adebayor last week, but their interest has cooled. A deal for the Togo international to join Roma appears to have fallen through after they signed Seydou Doumbia from CSKA Moscow.
Roma, though, are still interested in Tottenham's unwanted defender Vlad Chiriches and expect to agree a deal to take the Romanian on loan.
On Adebayor, the QPR manager Harry Redknapp said: "He'd certainly suit us - and it's an area where we could do with a bit more."
Hull City are hoping to complete the loan signing of Aaron Lennon, with Tottenham wanting the guarantee they will sign him on a permanent pounds 7?million deal in the summer.