ITALIAN goal-ace Corrado Grabbi jetted into Manchester last night to open talks with Rovers about a big-money move to Ewood.

Manager Graeme Souness has now been given the green light to speak to the player after Rovers have all but agreed a fee in the region of £6.75 million with Serie B side Ternana.

And discussions with the player's advisers are already said to be at an advanced stage as the club look to scupper a late bid from Serie A side Udinese.

Souness and chief executive John Williams spent the whole of yesterday talking with the player's representatives.

And a deal could even be signed and sealed by tonight, depending on how quickly things develop today.

Grabbi was due to be given a tour of Ewood and Brockhall this morning before resuming talks around lunch time today.

And, depending on how things go, there have even been provisions made for him to undergo a medical this afternoon.

It's thought the club are planning to offer the 25-year-old a lucrative four year contract.

And they have also struck a deal where they will spread the cost of the transfer fee over three instalments.

Understandably, Ewood officials are still refusing to jump the gun until the player puts pen to paper.

But Souness is now clearly in the box seat in the race for his signature.

"Pending final discussions with Ternana, they have now given us permission to speak to the player," confirmed Williams.

"We had preliminary discussions with his advisers yesterday which went well.

"And he personally flew into the country last night for further negotiations and to talk with Graeme about footballing matters.

"So we're quietly confident something will get sorted out, but there's still a bit to do as yet."

Rovers' hopes of luring Grabbi to England were nearly dealt a killer blow yesterday when Udinese came in with a new, improved offer in a bid to hijack the deal.

Significantly, however, the player still flew to England and the indications are he is eager to test himself in the Premiership.

Regarded as something of a crowd-pleaser back home, Souness has been hot on the trail of the player for some weeks after being hugely impressed following a special scouting mission to Italy.

And the Rovers boss is said to be 'very excited' by the prospect of him forming a deadly alliance with Matt Jansen and Marcus Bent next season.

If he signs, however, his arrival is sure to cast fresh doubts over the future of Nathan Blake.

Look out later today for an exclusive interview with Grabbi...return to thisislancashire later.