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Striker Darren Bent is on the verge of completing a move from Sunderland to Aston Villa, the BBC has learnt.
A fee of £18m is believed to have been agreed for the England international after he handed in a transfer request.
"The fee starts at £18m, rising with add-ons to £24m," said BBC Radio 5 live's Pat Murphy.
It is understood the 26-year-old could be unveiled at Villa Park later on Tuesday afternoon depending on how negotiations progress.
Bent joined the Black Cats for an initial £10m from Tottenham in August 2009 when he signed a four-year deal with the north-east club.
His shock move to the Midlands outfit would smash Villa's previous transfer record when they paid £12 apiece in signing James Milner, who has since joined Manchester City, from Newcastle and Stewart Downing from Middlesbrough.
Bent's signing would also be a show of faith from Villa's American owner Randy Lerner in manager Gerard Houllier, despite the Frenchman struggling to steer the club away from the relegation zone since taking over in September.
The forward's switch from a club currently sixth in the Premier League to one fourth from bottom of the top-flight would also leave Sunderland boss Steve Bruce with a big void to fill.
Bent, who started his career at Ipswich before spells at Charlton and Spurs, scored 25 times last season and has notched 11 goals so far in the current campaign.
Bruce has fellow strikers Asamoah Gyan and the on-loan Danny Welbeck, who is currently injured, to call on and, although they have eased the reliance on Bent with 14 goals between them this season, they have will have to show they have the consistency to ease the pain of the imminent departure.
Bent has one of the best strike rates during recent seasons in the Premier League.
Since 2005 he has scored 81 league goals, with only Manchester United's Wayne Rooney and Chelsea forward Didier Drogba ahead of him in the scoring charts with 82.
Although he missed out on selection for the 2010 World Cup last summer, Bent did grab his first international goal in September when he scored after coming on as a substitute in a 3-1 win over Switzerland.
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