FC Koln defender Timo Hubers is set to be a £6million target for Premier League clubs this summer.
Newcastle, Leeds and Crystal Palace are understood to be tracking the 25-year-old centre-back, while West Ham, Southampton and Championship promotion favourites Fulham are also monitoring his situation.
Hubers signed a two-year contract when he returned to the Bundesliga with Koln in July from second-tier Hannover 96, and will enter the final 12 months of his deal in the summer.
A 6ft 2in ball-playing defender, Hubers has made 18 appearances in all competitions this term as Koln have bounced back from finishing third-from-bottom last season to reach eighth place with six games left to play.
Having spent the first half of the campaign mostly on the bench, the German has now played 12 of Koln's last 13 Bundesliga games. His only absence came after testing positive for Covid-19.
Hubers scored his first Bundesliga in a 2-2 draw against Bochum in January as he smashed the ball home from a corner.
The Hildesheim-born player came through Hannover’s youth system before starting his career with Koln’s second team, and then returned to Hannover for a five-year spell.
Leeds have shipped the most goals in the Premier League this season (68), while Newcastle have conceded the fourth-most.
Meanwhile, both West Ham and Southampton are likely to prioritise bringing in a centre-back in the summer.
David Moyes tried and failed to sign a number of players in that position in January, including James Tarkowski, Nat Phillips and Joe Worrall.