Swansea City are closing in on Barnsley's Michael Duff as Russell Martin's replacement in south Wales.
Martin, who has the subject of protracted negotiations between Swansea and Southampton over the managerial job at St Mary's, is expected to be unveiled as the new boss of the Hampshire club imminently.
A process lasting weeks has centred on how much compensation Southampton should pay Swansea to take Martin to the south coast of England, who has a year left to run on his SA1 contract. That wrangle now appears to have been sorted. To get the latest Swans news sent straight to your inbox, sign up here.
READ MORE: Swansea City make approach for Barnsley's Michael Duff as movement imminent
Swansea will, however, have to pay the Tykes to prise Duff away from Oakwell to replace Martin in the dugout in Landore.
45-year-old Duff is just over a year into a three-year deal with the League One club, who he lead to the play-off final last season, losing to Sheffield Wednesday at Wembley in heartbreaking fashion.
The Independent report Swansea will have to pay a fee of £500,000 to activate his release clause to bring Duff to the Swansea.com Stadium.
Negotiations between Barnsley and Swansea are said to be at an “advanced stage”, and you can read more about the approach here.
Tykes chief executive Khaled El-Ahmad said last week that they were planning for all scenarios amid interest in his manager.
"He is under contract and he is coaching Barnsley FC," he said. "For assurances, he is under contract, just like the players are and we are planning the pre-season. So far, there's nothing else to report. There's been none (interest).
"Obviously, I don't talk about individual contracts in public. All I can say is that we are prepared for all scenarios at all times. In a sense in football, if it happens, it happens. But it's all heading in the right direction. We are in a good place."
Swansea, Southampton and Barnsley will all want this wrapped up quickly; the Championship and League One fixtures are released tomorrow, with players across the country getting ready for pre-season and clubs set for warm-weather training camps.
Swansea are poised to jet off to Spain on Sunday for a training week. They then return on Saturday, July 1.
It's understood there are likely to be some behind-closed-doors friendlies when the players return, although exact details aren't yet clear. The Swans then kick-off their summer schedule with a trip to Oxford United on July 21.
