Tottenham forward Son Heung-min is reportedly looking towards his "next career step", with Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti said to have a keen interest.
Son tied with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah for the Premier League's Golden Boot after a career-best 23 goals last season and was the only player with more than 16 goals to not take a penalty.
It was the sixth Premier League season in a row Son has tallied at least 11 goals, and despite the South Korean's slow start to this campaign, he has shown his class in spurts, including a hat-trick off the bench against Leicester City and an important brace in a 3-2 Champions League win against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Tottenham sit in third place, five points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, but if Son does not believe he can realistically win silverware with the club, the 30-year-old may view a move to a Champions League stalwart as now or never.
TOP STORY – REAL MADRID KEEPING A CLOSE EYE ON SPURS' SON
According to Sport1, Ancelotti is monitoring Son's situation closely, however his contract situation gives Tottenham all the leverage as he is tied to the club until 2025.
The report claims there is also interest from world powerhouses Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, and that an impressive performance in the World Cup – where South Korea will play Uruguay, Ghana and Portugal in the group stage – could see a club spurred into action in January.
Bild is reporting Bayern will not have an active January window, which would rule them out for the immediate future as any serious bid for the Tottenham star would need to be substantial.
However, with Tottenham desperate to retain the services of Antonio Conte – who the Times reported as saying he needs three more transfer windows to build the necessary depth at the club – selling one of his top players would be a step in the wrong direction.
ROUND-UP
– Ser Deportivos is reporting Real Madrid have offered an improved contract to Marco Asensio amid speculation that he may head to the Premier League when his contract expires after this season.
– According to O Jogo, Liverpool and Manchester United are both interested in 18-year-old Benfica centre-back Antonio Silva.
– Arsenal are preparing an offer for 27-year-old Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic that is believed to be worth in the range of €50m, with their bid also including Albert Sambi Lokonga in a player exchange, per Calciomercato.
– Sport is reporting Barcelona view 25-year-old Ajax player Edson Alvarez as a potential successor to Sergio Busquets in the centre of midfield, although the Dutch giants supposedly rejected a €50m offer from Chelsea in the previous transfer window.
– According to The Mirror, Manchester United are eyeing Lille's Jonathan David, Lyon's Moussa Dembele or Bayer Leverkusen's Patrick Schick as potential replacements for Cristiano Ronaldo.