Birmingham City and Middlesbrough are reportedly plotting a January swoop for Lorient's midfield sensation Arthur Avom.
The two clubs find themselves perched first and second respectively during the November international window, with Birmingham sitting top of the standings on goal difference.
Reinforcements will be on the agenda in the January window to sustain their respective promotion charges and the pair have been linked to Cameroon international Avom, who is receiving scintillating reviews in France's top-flight.
In a report from Football League World, both Birmingham and Middlesbrough are plotting moves for Avom, who has little over 18 months left on his current deal at Lorient.
The 21-year-old has featured in all 10 of Lorient's Ligue 1 fixtures so far this campaign as Alexandre Dujeux's side sit 10th, two points adrift of a European berth in France's top-flight.
Avom came through the ranks at Cameroonian club Fauve Azur, where he was spotted by a Lorient scout in 2023 and signed a three-year deal.
Following a debut campaign in French football with the reserves Championnat National 2 (fourth tier), Lorient's relegation from Ligue 1 in 2023/24 swung the door open for Avom to stake his claim in the first-team in the subsequent season.
He was a regular starter under Olivier Pantaloni and featured alongside Bournemouth star Eli Junior Kroupi in helping Lorient to win the Ligue 2 title.
His form during his debut Ligue 1 campaign attracted the attention of an array of Premier League clubs including Leeds United, Aston Villa and Chelsea as Lorient finished 10th.
A box-to-box midfielder with abundant energy, ball-winning skills and playmaking abilities, Avom would be a major coup for any side with ambitions of reaching the Premier League.
Birmingham will be making plans to acquire a Tomoki Iwata successor as the Japan midfielder is set to depart St Andrew's at the end of the season, and Avom's athleticism and stamina would fill the void of the former Celtic ace.
Middlesbrough's current midfield pairing of US duo Aidan Morris and Sebastian Berhalter can be considered one of the best in the Championship, but Kim Hellberg would benefit from greater depth and a more defensive-minded operator in the middle of the park.
