Santos president Marcelo Teixeira has confirmed Souza is joining Tottenham Hotspur in the near future, according to ESPN Brazil.
Spurs have already completed their first signing of the January transfer window after bringing in Conor Gallagher in a deal worth £35m from Atletico Madrid.
The North London club are ready to back Thomas Frank further though before the February 2 deadline, with Brazilian left-back Souza mentioned as a key target for many weeks.
A deal has been agreed between the two clubs, with Teixeira dropping a big hint that the move will get completed following his latest comments on the Brazilian club's finances.
Teixiera Explains How Santos Will Spend Souza Money
Tottenham and Santos have agreed a deal worth in the region of £13m for the 19-year-old, who looks set to be confirmed as the Premier League club's latest signing.
According to Teixeira, the money brought in from Spurs for Souza will be used to balance the books, settle debts and try and avoid any further sanctions from FIFA.
The most important of those is regarding Joao Basso, with Portuguese club Arouca filing a lawsuit with FIFA about a €2.6m missing payment.
He said, via ESPN Brazil:
The effort is always the same to balance the debts. We have already paid R$ 130 million in transfer bans in 2024, and others were avoided through agreements. Arouca didn't even agree to talk to Santos, who even sent a representative to Portugal," he reported.
It's important to remember that this [ João Bass ] debt, like all the others being processed at FIFA, is not from our administration, but from previous administrations.
Why Souza Deal has Taken Longer Than Gallagher
Tottenham actually agreed a deal to sign Souza before negotiations started with Atletico for Gallagher, so why has it taken longer to happen?
The first reason is that once an agreement has been reached between the two clubs, a medical then needs to be organised for a player who is travelling from Brazil.
As confirmed by Alasdair Gold on Friday, Souza has completed his medical but now various paperwork associated with signing a player from South America is taking time to get the green light.
Tottenham Working on Signing Forward Next
Once the deals for Gallagher and Souza are over the line, Tottenham can turn their full focus to bringing in a new attacker for Frank next.
Spurs arguably needed a new forward even before the injury suffered by Mohammed Kudus, which will keep the Ghana international on the sidelines for up to three months. Now the need has been heightened.
The North Londoners have been linked with a move for RB Leipzig sensation Yan Diomande, but his £87m price tag and the Bundesliga club's reluctance to sell mid-season means a transfer is unlikely this month.