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Newcastle United's move for Nick Woltemade is "developing", but head coach Eddie Howe has offered no guarantee about the future of Alexander Isak.
Woltemade, 23, arrived on Tyneside on Thursday and is set to have a medical on Friday before completing his transfer from Stuttgart.
There has been no confirmation of a fee, but a source suggested it would be a club record - beating the £63m they paid for Isak three years ago.
Howe indicated it was unlikely Woltemade would be registered in time to make his Premier League debut against Leeds United on Saturday, but stressed "the most important thing is we try to bring a centre-forward in".
"Things are moving and developing in a good way at the moment," he said. "Until things are done, I can't confirm anything - but fingers crossed."
Should Newcastle conclude the signing of Woltemade, it could give Liverpool encouragement to make another move for Isak in the final days of the transfer window, after the champions had a £110m bid rejected last month.
In a statement last week, Newcastle said they did not foresee their conditions for selling Isak, 25, being met - namely securing two quality strikers, as well as receiving a suitable offer from Liverpool.
Agreeing a deal for Woltemade feels like a significant first step, and Howe said the club were "still looking" because there was "an opportunity to maybe improve the squad further".
He again made it clear Isak could be reintegrated in the squad but said it was "difficult to give any clarity on the future".
"Of course I have a preference but ultimately you've got to look at all the information," he said. "I have a footballing preference, but then you have got to take everything else into account.
"You can't just be oblivious to things that have happened so I'm in that position where I'm trying to separate myself from it because I have no control over it. I'll let everything take its course and deal with the eventuality."
Howe said he had to separate himself from the emotion involved, particularly when Isak had stopped training with his team-mates.
"I took the view then that the squad needed me to be the best me and be totally focused on them," he said.
"This situation was not going to be resolved quickly and I had no control over bringing any resolution to it, either. I was in that position where I took the call to move forward with the squad."
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