Big Sam is now very close to landing his man.
This afternoon, Crystal Palace confirmed they've agreed a fee with Norwich City for Republic of Ireland international Robbie Brady.
The deal isn't done yet, with personal terms and a medical to be completed, but the Dubliner is set to be bought for an initial £9m, which could eventually rise as high as £12m.
He's a player Sam Allardyce has been keen on for a while, name-dropping him very early on in the transfer window, and despite interest from Burnley, Aston Villa and West Ham among others, it appears the Eagles will win the race to sign him.
Perhaps it's Brady's set-piece ability that's attracting Allardyce to him. Or perhaps it's the 25-year-old's physicality. He doesn't shirk a tackle, and Allardyce has seen this first hand.
Back in April of 2016, the pair found themselves in the thick of a schmozzle during Sunderland's 3-0 win against Brady's Norwich in the Premier League.
It started when Brady put a hefty shoulder challenge in on DeAndre Yedlin, causing him to crash against the advertising boards.
Allardyce didn't react well, and Brady was quick to stand up for himself, with several players from each side trading handbags in the Sunderland technical area.
After the match, Allardyce was quick to stress he was just backing his player. While he didn't like Brady's tenacity at the time, it's clearly something he admires.
"I got a bit carried away, which is what happens with emotions in the game, and with such a big game. I don’t know why the Norwich players came running over so much.
"I was bit disappointed the fourth official didn’t stop the Norwich players encroaching into my box. I was protecting my box and my players at the time. But certainly I was going to protect all my players, my mob."
I'm sure that challenge will be water under the bridge soon enough.
