Sunderland are chasing PSG centre-forward Mevlut Erding.
The Sun says they are trying to snatch Erding from under the noses of bitter rivals Newcastle United.
Black Cats boss Steve Bruce is eyeing up a £9million swoop for the Turkey hitman.
Erding is set to be offloaded after PSG signed Kevin Gameiro from Lorient.
But Toon manager Alan Pardew said: "Erding has always been on our radar. He's a very good player and that is all I will say at the moment.
"We had a bit of a disappointment with Kevin Gameiro as he has decided to go to PSG. We made a fantastic offer to the club and to him, but these things happen.
"We tried very hard on that one but we always knew there would be setbacks along the way."