Manchester City are progressing in talks to sign Omar Marmoush from Eintracht Frankfurt for around £50m and Lens's £35m-rated defender Abdukodir Khusanov.
Mail Sport first revealed City's interest in Marmoush in December, with the Egypt international keen to move on to the Premier League champions.
Frankfurt are a reluctant seller, especially in the winter window, and had hoped to keep the 25-year-old, who has scored 18 goals in 24 appearances this season.
Liverpool and Arsenal are also tracking Marmoush but have not followed through on their interest and City are willing to pay around £50 million for a player who can play on the front line or behind the striker.
Mail Sport previously reported that City plan to add two or three signings in this window to revitalize Pep Guardiola's squad and increase competition after a difficult first half of the season.
The Premier League champions have had a tough time due to Rodri's absence due to injury. They embarked on a disastrous run of one win in thirteen games, before recording back-to-back victories over the festive period.
In addition to Marmoush, City want to add a midfielder and a central defender to Mail Sport. Earlier it also revealed how talks had taken place over Uzbek international Khusanov, 20, alongside AIK Freetong's 18-year-old Juma Bah.
City have also held talks with Palmeiras in their bid to beat Brighton with the signing of 18-year-old defender Vitor Reis. The Seagulls have rejected offers of around £23 million for Reis.
Meanwhile, Frankfurt denied that City had made a formal approach for Marmoush last week, but Mail Sport sources understand informal talks are continuing and they are expected to reach an agreement in the coming days.
Marmoush is second in the Bundesliga scoring charts behind Harry Kane and was a target for Nottingham Forest last summer.
The German team wants to qualify for the Champions League next season and is currently in third place in the German top flight.
As such, losing one of their key stars – and the goals he brings with him – could be a huge blow to their efforts.
City are expected to be busy this month, although the Spaniard does not want to let any of his core stars leave the club.
Captain Kyle Walker and goalkeeper Ederson are the subject of interest from the Saudi Pro League, while question marks remain over Matheus Nunes and Jack Grealish.
James McAtee remains a popular player across Europe and Kevin De Bruyne has entered the final six months of his contract.
However, City want to keep the core of Guardiola's team together for now and expand that group rather than swapping in and out over the next four weeks. Even though a number of pillars have underperformed.
You suspect that sales arise because a player expresses his desperation to leave and the money offered is then deemed appropriate. In that respect, not much will change in how City operates.
But there is money available to spend – as evidenced by healthy reports published a few weeks ago – and sources told Mail Sport last month that Begiristain and Guardiola were keen to address three or four areas of concern – mainly central midfield, back and forward . .
The Premier League champions understand that buying the right goals will not be an easy task in the middle of a campaign.
Fifteen players from City's squad have had at least one fitness problem this season. Stefan Ortega, Rico Lewis, Ilkay Gundogan, Erling Haaland and Bernardo Silva are the only five who have remained injury-free.
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