Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas says club chairman Daniel Levy will make the final decision over the potential sale of midfielder Luka Modric.
The Croatian is expected to join Real Madrid before the close of the English Premier League's transfer window at the end of August.
Last season, Modric was linked with Chelsea, but Tottenham persuaded him to stay. However the 26-year-old, who has played for his country 57 times, is set to move to Spain, with a fee of £27.5m being reported in the British media.
"It is in the chairman's hands, I think the chairman has recently been speaking to Real Madrid about the situation, so it is in his hands at the moment, to define the final situation for Luka," Villas-Boas told reporters.
The Portuguese took over at the north London side earlier this Summer, replacing Harry Redknapp and if Modric does leave as expected, one of his first tasks will be to replace the influential playmaker.
"Well obviously we have outlined a couple of solutions," he says. "We still have to address them because this has put in some way the market on hold. We have made initial contacts with a couple of clubs and some players. I think before this situation was solved we couldn't do nothing because we already had a certain amount of players in this position."
Striker Jermain Defoe spent much of last season sidelined by Redknapp, starting only 11 Premier League games, but he still hit the back of the net 18 times.
On Wednesday night, he showed how dangerous he can be, with a superb second-half strike to hand England a 2-1 win over Italy.
Defoe might be tempted to leave White Hart Lane along with Modric because Villas-Boas is keen to bring in more attacking talent, although the manager said that he was keen to keep the 29-year-old.
"We are looking for one more striker because that is the reality of the Premier League," says Villas Boas.
"We can't survive with two strikers only, you need three of four. There are clubs who have five. And at the moment we are looking to strengthen the squad in that position. Jermain last year scored 18 goals and was a key player for Tottenham, and he will continue to be, that is the expectancy towards his Tottenham future. He knows we are in the market, looking for one striker more but I think he understands that competition is what makes people tick, and what will make Jermain evolve even more as a player."
Reuters