Martin O'Neill is understood to be considering a move for young Southampton midfielder Harrison Reed.
Nottingham Forest's pursuit of Jack Colback appears to be fading, and 24-year-old Reed is one player linked with replacing the Newcastle United man.
The ex-England Under-20 midfielder is understood to be one of those targets, either on loan or perhaps a permanent deal, although Forest could face competition from Premier League sides Burnley and Norwich City.
His career so far
Reed made his Southampton breakthrough in 2013 under Nigel Adkins after progressing through the club's academy ranks.
His debut came in the League Cup away at Oakwell and he made his Premier League debut six months later against Manchester City.
The following season he would go on to turn out 10 times for the Saints in all competitions but struggled for game time over a five-year period that saw six new managers come through the door at St. Mary's.
By 2017, he had only made six starts on the south coast and was loaned out to Norwich City where he became a regular fixture in the Championship in midfield with James Maddison and Josh Murphy.
The underachieving Canaries finished 14th that season and despite their efforts to extend the midfielder's loan he instead ended up in Lancashire with Blackburn Rovers on another season long loan.
What are his strengths?
Scouting website WhoScored.com , who analyse the performances of each and every Championship player, have provided the key statistic on Reed.
Like Colback, the hard-tackling central midfielder became popular at Ewood Park and Carrow Road for his intense defensive contribution.
But last season he was not exclusively a defensive midfielder and at times was deployed on the right of midfield and in attacking midfield for Rovers.
Reed is good at holding onto possession and ensures his team build from the back and last season played an impressive 1.2 key passes per game, five of which resulted in goals.
Who else is interested?
Forest look set to face stiff competition to land the midfielder with two Premier League clubs interested.
Despite failing to sign him last summer, Norwich are said to have reignited their interest this summer having achieved promotion to the Premier League.
The Canaries will have licence to splash the cash this summer thanks to their lucrative Championship title victory.
Burnley are also rumoured to be in for Reed.
Sean Dyche's side finished 16th last season, six points clear of the drop.
