DERBY County's search for a striker could see them turn to Blackburn Rovers' Leon Best.
The 27-year-old Republic of Ireland international is being linked with the Rams.
I understand contact has been made with Blackburn but it is unclear how far the matter has gone.
Any deal is likely to be a loan as Best still has two years of his Rovers contract to run.
Derby are remaining tight-lipped about their targets but they are aiming to bolster the squad ahead of the new Championship season.
A striker is on the wanted list and the Rams showed an interest in Lukas Jutkiewicz before he moved from Middlesbrough to Premier League side Burnley.
Head coach Steve McClaren is looking to find competition and cover for Chris Martin, who is the focal point of the Rams attack and scored 25 goals last season.
Best, born in Nottingham, has hit 59 goals in 251 games in his career.
He started his career at Southampton and had loan spells at Queens Park Rangers, Sheffield Wednesday, Bournemouth and Yeovil Town before he signed for Coventry City in 2007 in a £650,000 deal.
He scored 19 goals in 92 League games for the Sky Blues and, in 2010, earned a £1.5m move to Newcastle United, where he hit 10 goals in 42 League appearances.
Rovers paid Newcastle £3m for Best two years ago and he signed a four-year contract at Ewood Park.
Less than a month after signing, he suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury and was out for more than six months.
He scored a late equaliser against Derby in the opening league fixture of last season but was loaned out to Sheffield Wednesday later in the campaign.
He scored five goals in 16 games for the Owls.
