I don’t like to report about speculation, as it can often just be rubbish, but several sources are reporting that Town have submitted a €15m offer to Montpellier for Isaac Mbenza, a 22-year-old winger. French paper, L’Équipe, broke the story late on Monday night and several other websites and Twitter users have reported the same story.

I’ve never heard of him before this rumour emerged, but having watched the highlights clip of his goals on YouTube, I now feel convinced he’s the answer to all our problems!

Who is Issac Mbenza?

He’s a right-footed young winger that has scored 11 goals in 54 appearances in Ligue 1 for Montpellier. As well as playing regularly in the French top flight, he’s had a handful of under-21 caps for Belgium. Like many of Town’s signings, he’s still young, so probably not the finished article but looks promising.

As usual, it’s important not to get too carried away with highlight reels, but he seems quick and can finish nicely:

Is this deal likely to go through?

There have been a few rumoured deals that haven’t gone over the line for Town this summer but this one seems closer than most. There’s still potential for the player’s personal demands to scupper the deal or the medical could turn up a surprise. However, it seems like a bid has been made and most probably will be accepted, so it’s getting close to being done.

Would Mbenza be a good signing for Town?

Tom Ince’s departure left us a little bit short on wide players, so bringing in a promising winger makes sense. The fee involved seems to be quite high, so it could be that we’re having to pay over the odds because of the fast-approaching transfer window deadline.

I’m not sure he’s of the same calibre as Adama Traore or Anthony Limbombe, who we’ve been connected with this summer. But given his age it could be that David Wagner can see previously untapped potential in Mbenza. Our manager tends to have a good eye for picking players, so if Wagner thinks he’s good enough then that’s good enough for me.

What will this mean for the rest of Town’s transfer business?

I get the feeling that bringing in another winger to replace Tom Ince was the priority for Town in this last week of the transfer window. I suspect there won’t be any more players coming in unless something unexpected pops up, like a long-term target suddenly becoming available or a loan player being offered that’s too good to turn down (Man City’s Phil Foden would top my shopping list, but I think that’s a bit unrealistic given he started in the Charity Shield).

If Mbenza does sign then it means Collin Quaner is almost certain to leave the club, as we’ll need to offload a non-homegrown player to make space in the squad. Rumours connecting him with a move to Preston have died down lately, but surely someone in the Championship will want to take him off our hands. Malone and Hefele are also likely to be moved on before the window closes on Thursday night, but nothing concrete has been reported for either of them.