Eyal Berkovic is expected to complete his move to Portsmouth within 24 hours after it was confirmed a fee had been agreed with his present club Manchester City.
It raises the possibility of the 31-year-old Israel international making his debut against the Blues in Saturday's Premiership encounter with Pompey at Fratton Park.
Berkovic is due to have a medical later this evening and providing the results are satisfactory, will rejoin his old West Ham boss Harry Redknapp on the south coast.
City boss Kevin Keegan had been quite keen to ensure Berkovic would not play at the weekend but Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric threatened to pull out of negotiations if any clause was inserted in the deal.
It is thought City will receive around £500,000 for the player, who made the last of his 67 appearances for the Blues as a substitute against Newcastle in November.
While Berkovic's departure should provide Keegan with some funds to strengthen his squad during the transfer window, the loss of the playmaker will be lamented by some City fans, who believe he could have helped their club end their current barren run, which was extended to 13 matches without a win with the 1-1 draw against Charlton.
However, relations between the former Celtic player and his manager became strained during the summer when he slapped in a transfer request after having his demand for an extension to his current contract turned down.
Although it appeared peace had broken out when Berkovic started the opening game of the new campaign against Total Network Solutions, the rift soon re-appeared and he has made just six more appearances.
Redknapp will be hoping Berkovic can spark Pompey into an immediate improvement after they slipped into the bottom three this week.
"We want to make sure any deal is a financially sound one for the club," said Pompey chief executive Peter Storrie. "If the remaining obstacles can be overcome then we remain hopeful that Eyal will be a Pompey player by the weekend."