Luka Modric was the object of Chelsea's affections last season, but now the Croat is ostensibly being courted by Manchester United.
Sir Alex Ferguson, a known long-term admirer of the playmaker, hopes £25m will be enough to lure the Croatia international from White Hart Lane to Old Trafford, says The Sun's Neil Custis.
"Hope" is the key word here. We all hope to win the EuroMillions tonight, but it is perhaps just as unlikely.
Harry Redknapp said when Chelsea offered £22m last year players were going for £20m who "weren't fit to tie Modric's laces" (hi, Jordan Henderson). It will be a major shock if Spurs' chief extortioner, chairman Daniel Levy, accepts such a modest offer. The north London club have just made a profit in excess of 100 per cent on bench-warmer Niko Kranjcar.
There is also United's finances to be taken into account. Whereas Chelsea have made a £78m investment in Eden Hazard over five years, the Reds' Glazer family owners have spent £71m on the buyback of bonds and on interest. Tottenham rejected bids in excess of £30m for Modric from Chelsea in 2011 too.
Modric signed a mammoth six-year contract in May 2010, which ensures that, although Tottenham will be without Champions League football again, they are in a secure position to obtain a large transfer fee when they do sell him.
Zadar-born Modric, 26, has scored 17 goals in his four seasons since he was signed during the brief Juande Ramos era for £16.6m from Dynamo Zagreb in 2008.
United meanwhile have agreed a £3m fee for 18-year-old Chilean striker Angelo Henriquez, add the Daily Mail.