Wolves and Fulham eye 15-goal Russia captain Fyodor Smolov

Wolves and Fulham have joined the chase for Russia captain Fyodor Smolov.

The 28-year-old striker, who will lead his country at this summer's World Cup, was the subject of an £11million bid from West Ham last December but that was rejected.

However, Smolov's goalscoring has alerted other sides and newly-promoted Wolves plus Fulham have checked him out in recent weeks.

Under the watchful eye of scouts, Smolov scored twice for his club, Krasnodar, against league leaders Lokomotiv Moscow last week, taking his season's tally to 15 goals in 22 games.

Zenit St Petersburg are keen to sign him in the summer also but fluent English-speaker Smolov is ready to test himself in the Premier League and is open to moving for the right project. Krasnodar will sell for £12m.

Wolves are weighing up a number of options while Fulham want competition for Aleksandr Mitrovic who they hope to sign permanently from Newcastle United.

Fulham's bid though will depend on whether they are able to join Wolves in the top flight.

West Ham are likely to be in the market for a striker as Javier Hernandez and Andy Carroll want to leave but David Moyes, should he stay on, is currently prioritising midfield and defensive recruits, with the likes of Chelsea's Danny Drinkwater, Stoke's Joe Allen and Andre Gomes of Barcelona among potential targets.