Borussia Dortmund's Japan star Shinji Kagawa looks set to clinch a move to Manchester United.
Reports from Germany suggest the English Premier League runners-up are close to completing the EU15m (AED69m) deal.
Dortmund's director of sport Michael Zorc told German football magazine Kicker that some details have yet to be finalised and Kagawa is still contracted to the German league and cup winners until June 2013.
The 23-year-old has attracted substantial interest from Premier League sides for his performances at the Westfalenstadion this season.
Earlier this month, Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson flew to Berlin to watch Kagawa score in Dortmund's 5-2 win over Bayern Munich in the German Cup final.
Kagawa cost Dortmund just 350,000 euros when he joined from J-League side Cerezo Osaka in 2010. He has scored 21 goals in 49 Bundesliga appearances for Borussia, helping them win back-to-back league titles.
THE SPECS
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Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
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Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Analysis
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Ways to control drones
Countries have been coming up with ways to restrict and monitor the use of non-commercial drones to keep them from trespassing on controlled areas such as airports.
"Drones vary in size and some can be as big as a small city car - so imagine the impact of one hitting an airplane. It's a huge risk, especially when commercial airliners are not designed to make or take sudden evasive manoeuvres like drones can" says Saj Ahmed, chief analyst at London-based StrategicAero Research.
New measures have now been taken to monitor drone activity, Geo-fencing technology is one.
It's a method designed to prevent drones from drifting into banned areas. The technology uses GPS location signals to stop its machines flying close to airports and other restricted zones.
The European commission has recently announced a blueprint to make drone use in low-level airspace safe, secure and environmentally friendly. This process is called “U-Space” – it covers altitudes of up to 150 metres. It is also noteworthy that that UK Civil Aviation Authority recommends drones to be flown at no higher than 400ft. “U-Space” technology will be governed by a system similar to air traffic control management, which will be automated using tools like geo-fencing.
The UAE has drawn serious measures to ensure users register their devices under strict new laws. Authorities have urged that users must obtain approval in advance before flying the drones, non registered drone use in Dubai will result in a fine of up to twenty thousand dirhams under a new resolution approved by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai.
Mr Ahmad suggest that "Hefty fines running into hundreds of thousands of dollars need to compensate for the cost of airport disruption and flight diversions to lengthy jail spells, confiscation of travel rights and use of drones for a lengthy period" must be enforced in order to reduce airport intrusion.