Borussia Dortmund are moving closer towards FC Basel's valuation of Manuel Akanji, a player Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham and Southampton have enquired about, with the Swiss club signalling their plans for life without the defender by eyeing Timm Klose.
Akanji has been placed at the very top of Dortmund's hit list for the transfer window this month, but doing a deal has been difficult as Basel are under little pressure to drop their financial demands due to the level of interest in the centre-back.
But according to Swiss daily Blick, there has been movement with Dortmund edging up to €15m for Akanji, while it is claimed Basel's pain threshold could be €20m.
Liverpool look to be out of the race for Akanji after signing Virgil van Dijk, but Tottenham, Southampton, West Ham and Roma have all expressed interest in the Switzerland international.
Basel are in no mood to drop from their financial demands given the fierce interest in Akanji.
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But the Swiss giants are planning for life without the defender in a clear sign his departure is possible.
The man on Basel's list is Norwich City centre-back Klose.
Only selling Akanji would free up the needed funds though to take Klose to St. Jakob-Park.
Klose, a Swiss international who spent time in Basel's youth ranks and was brought up in the city, joined Norwich from Wolfsburg in 2016.
