Penarol striker Agustin Alvarez had been linked with Fiorentina in January and could be heading to Serie A this summer for Sassuolo.
According to Sport890 in Uruguay and Sky Sport Italia, negotiations are in progress for an offer worth €7.5m, plus giving Penarol a 20 per cent cut of any future transfer fee.
The centre-forward just turned 21 a couple of weeks ago and is under contract with his club until June 2024.
He found the net only once in 20 competitive games this term, but was the top scorer of the most recent edition of the Copa Sudamericana.
Alvarez is a full Uruguay international with one goal in four senior caps for his country.
There had already been an approach in the January transfer window from Fiorentina when they had to replace Dusan Vlahovic, but opted for Arthur Cabral from FC Basel and Krzysztof Piatek on loan instead.
The pursuit of Alvarez suggests Sassuolo are preparing for the possible exit of Gianluca Scamacca and Giacomo Raspadori.
#Calciomercato | @SassuoloUS, per l’attacco obiettivo Agustin Alvarez del @OficialCAP https://t.co/e5JxSmNJld
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) June 1, 2022