Earlier this week, we passed along a story that Barcelona are lining up a bid for Tottenham Hotspur central defender Jan Vertonghen. As it turns out, that's starting to look very likely. SB Nation's FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes is reporting that Barca are getting close to inking the Belgian.

Vertonghen's agent told Mirror that he has received offers from other clubs. Sources told us that one of these clubs is indeed Barcelona, and the Blaugrana are willing to pay his full buyout fee, of €22 million. If Tottenham agrees, which they seem to do, Barça and the player could be already negotiating personal details. According to the source, Vertonghen will sign a four-year contract, and the deal could be done by the end of next week. It all depends on Barça's negotiations with Paris Saint-Germain for Marquinhos. If those fall off, Vertonghen is set to come to Camp Nou.

As far as that buyout fee part is concerned, I assume that something's been lost in translation, and that the €22m figure is what Barcelona believes they'll have to pay to get Vertonghen. We've never heard of any Tottenham player having a buyout clause in their contract, and they're pretty rare in the Premier League in general.

Barca Blaugranes did some original reporting on the Alexis Sanchez and Luis Suarez deals, and were right on the money in both cases, so I'm inclined to believe they have decent information. Now, start looking out for Marquinhos rumors and cross your fingers that Barcelona sign him instead.