Sunderland boss David Moyes was closing in on his sixth summer signing on Wednesday night as defender Javier Manquillo underwent a medical.
Moyes did not attend his post-match press conference after the Black Cats' 1-0 EFL Cup second round victory over Shrewsbury at the Stadium of Light, which booked them a third round trip to QPR, after the Atletico Madrid defender arrived on Wearside.
Assistant manager Paul Bracewell said: "The lad [Manquillo] is obviously having his medical at the moment. He came in this afternoon and he's having his medical as we speak.''
A successful conclusion to that transfer -- which is expected to be a season-long loan deal - would come as a fresh boost to Moyes, who saw his team win a competitive game for the first time since he took charge courtesy of Adnan Januzaj's 83rd-minute strike.
Substitute George Waring might have taken the tie into extra time with an injury-time header, but missed the target from just three yards to leave Manchester United loanee Januzaj hanging on to the headlines.
Bracewell said: "That's one of the reasons why the boss brought him in. All of a sudden, he can turn, and it was a great finish to get a result on a tough night.
"It's a work in progress. Some things we were happy with and some things we weren't. He's got that ability to deliver something very special like that.
"We had a young team out tonight, one or two lads playing out of position as well. It was a tough game, but all in all the most important thing in the cup games is getting through.''
Shrews' boss Micky Mellon admitted Januzaj's decisive strike had come as something of a surprise, but was proud of his team's efforts.
He said: "He's hit that with his right foot - we thought he was left-footed, so he's not done badly. He's obviously practised with that, so fair play to him.
"To come here and be disappointed is a great measure of how we believe the team performed against a Premier League team, so I'm really, really proud of them.
"Of course, there's nothing for second place, but in terms of performance and coming up here and making sure that we represent this football club properly, I couldn't really have asked for any more, to be honest.''
Meanwhile, Moyes will hope for better news on the injury front ahead of Saturday's Premier League trip to Southampton with Jeremain Lens, who missed out against Shrewsbury because of a foot problem, and Billy Jones expected to resume training.
He is also hoping for better news of keeper Vito Mannone, who damaged an elbow in training on Tuesday, and defender John O'Shea, who limped out of Sunday's 2-1 defeat by Middlesbrough with a hip problem.
Bracewell said: "Vito was taken to hospital yesterday - he had an accident in training - and the X-ray was fine. But he's gone again this afternoon for a scan. We'll probably get the results of that first thing.
"He wants the specialist to have a look at it, so when we get the results of that scan, we'll have a better idea in terms of how long he is going to be out.
"In terms of the bone, they said it wasn't a fracture, but there's still a lot of swelling there, so the scan will probably give us a good indication in terms of if there is any ligament damage.
"John O'Shea was the same in terms of a scan. He will be reassessed in the morning just to see if it has settled down.''