Pompey’s chief executive Peter Storrie is now understood to be in France negotiating the release of the 26-year-old from his current club Lyon and a deal could be done before the end of the week.

Despite Benjani Mwaruwari’s hat-trick against Derby which ended Pompey’s home goal drought which had stretched over six Premier League matches, Redknapp insisted he needed another front man.

Only Benjani and £6m David Nugent – yet to score a Premier League goal - are currently available as the club waits for news of Nigeria forward Kanu’s knee injury which saw him carried off in the African Nations Cup game against Ivory Coast.

Redknapp told the Portsmouth News: “We need more bodies up front. That was the case before Kanu went (to the African Nations Cup) and now we’ve only got two. We need to strengthen there, for sure.

“Baros is a player I know. I like him and I would be interested. I think he’s a good player and certainly has a great pedigree.”

Baros, who joined Lyon a year ago from Villa in a swap for Norway striker John Carew, has scored six goals in 22 games for the French champions who are top of Ligue 1 under former Pompey manager Alain Perrin.

Storrie is understood to be trying to arrange a loan deal until the end of the season but Pompey may have to come up with a considerable fee for a player who cost £6.5m when he moved from Liverpool to Villa two years ago.

Despite still being linked with an ambitious bid to take Liverpool’s Peter Crouch on loan – unlikely because of the England striker’s wages and the current turmoil at Anfield – Redknapp is nevertheless expected to move into the transfer market again.

That is despite rumours of player unrest, hotly denied by the club, after the £5m signing of Lassana Diarra, 22, who is reported to be earning £50,000 a week following his move from Arsenal.