Earns the opportunity to make approaches (5)
I believe the answer is:
nears
'approaches' is the definition.
('near' can be a synonym of 'approach')
'earns the opportunity to' is the wordplay.
'earns' can be anagrammed to 'NEARS'.
However, I am unsure how the anagram is indicated.
'make' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for nears that I've seen before include "is approaching" , "Saner (anag.)" , "Comes closer" , "Bears down" , "Draws closer to" .)