Blackburn Rovers boss Tony Mowbray has admitted the club want to sign Michael Obafemi from Southampton.
The Championship outfit are likely to lose Adam Armstrong to Southampton in the coming days.
Saints and Rovers have an agreement on Armstrong, while the player has picked them as his next team.
And Republic of Ireland international Obafemi is Mowbray's preferred replacement.
"It's something that's been mooted, those sort of things become personal to the point the boy wants to make that move, his advisors have to see it as an opportunity," Mowbray said.
"If it's one he sees as a good chance for him to play more regular football at a level he sees himself doing similar things to Adam and build his reputation.
"It's something we're exploring but I won't sit here and say that anything is happening, we will see in the next couple of days if anything materialises."
Mowbray added: "I have watched him for the last three months.
"I was aware of him making his debut, he made quite a bit of noise a couple of years ago.
"I have studied him a lot recently and I see similarities with Adam, he's mobile, fast, can score, he's a young boy but we use attributes to help the team play in a certain way.
"He has the attributes that will help our team but it's not something we should be saying is a done deal as I've not personally spoken to the player so let's see what the next few days bring.
"Until this deal goes through, the men in suits will do the numbers and then I'll found out what the scope is."
