Tottenham hope to pull off the transfer coup of the summer by tying up the signing of Luis Figo before Friday.

Spurs have already persuaded Real Madrid to consent to a free transfer and to pay up to a third of the Portugal international's £6 million annual wages. That development led to Tottenham's sporting director Frank Arnesen flying to the Spanish capital yesterday to hold talks with Figo and his representative Luis Vicente.

Arnesen holds a strong hand. With just a year left on his contract, Figo is looking for longer-term employment and is attracted by the Premiership. Though his representatives have sounded out Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United, the current big four were unwilling to pursue the offer.

With Spurs having begun the season with four points from matches against two of the top five from the last campaign, Arnesen will not find it hard to convince Figo of his club's ambition.

The former world and European player of the year is also aware that his contribution at the Bernabeu is likely to be restricted to coming off the bench after the arrival of Jonathan Woodgate and Walter Samuel. Those signings will see Ivan Helguera return to his more natural central-midfield position from centre-half, squeezing the 31-year-old Figo out of the starting midfield.

Spurs, with their tradition of big-name signings such as Jurgen Klinsmann, would consider Figo an ideal addition and will divert a significant portion of their transfer resources - still relatively healthy after a £15 million share issue earlier this year - into a contract for Figo that would run beyond his current 2005 cut-off.

On unveiling £2.5-million midfielder Michael Carrick and £1.75-million right-back Noe Pamarot yesterday, Arnesen spoke in general terms about adding international pedigree to his squad, to which only the 34-year-old centre-back Nourredine Naybet has added experience.

"We have made, I think, very good transfers but I will not say necessarily that (Carrick and Pamarot) are the last. If we can bring a big player in who we think can bring us further in all aspects, we will do it."

Spurs have a vacancy for a wide player. With Simon Davies still suffering from the shin injury that blighted his performances last season, the unconvincing Jamie Redknapp has been filling in on the right wing.

Though Arnesen hoped to lure Shaun Wright-Phillips back to London, the England international recently extended his contract at Manchester City, leading the Dane to divert all his energies towards bringing in Figo.

Though aware Figo is not the player of three years ago, Arnesen is confident he would bring benefits to the side.

"For the team you cannot be too young or too old. You have to find a balance," said Arnesen. "You should always be open and creative, that's why we took Naybet. He's a guy we need in that position and for the others around (him). He can bring a lot of experience for the younger lads. You can never say you will not buy a player above a certain age."

Figo would be Spurs' 12th summer signing and the eighth from outside Britain. Yet Arnesen insists he has tried to buy British players.

"This is an English club and in the dressing-room we have to keep up the culture if it's possible, so if we can get the England players that we want, we go for them," he said. "On the other side, I would never not take a foreign player if we think he's good and he can bring us a level higher."

Arnesen described himself as "delighted" to have signed Carrick on a four-year contract and also welcomed Pamarot, a former Portsmouth defender, from Nice on a similar deal.

Carrick, who is unlikely to feature in tonight's match at West Brom, acknowledged his career stalled at West Ham because of groin operations, and relegation, and he hopes to get back into the England set-up.

Though "disappointed" when Arsenal ended their interest in him, he said he was "excited" to have joined Spurs: "I have to try to fulfil the potential I showed before those injuries and hopefully I can do that at Tottenham."