Huddersfield Town frontman Danny Ward could be heading back to Leeds United.
The versatile 24-year-old, who had four years as a junior with the Elland Road club before joining Bolton Wanderers, is believed to be on head coach Neil Redfearn’s list of January targets.
Steve Thompson, who recently left Town to become Redfearn’s assistant, is also a fan of Ward, who cost a reported £1m in 2011.
Leeds are under a transfer embargo for breaching Financial Fair Play, but have some room for manoeuvre because their current squad has fewer than 24 ‘established players’.
They cannot pay a transfer fee, but Town could be willing to release or loan Ward, who is out of contract at the end of the season, as manager Chris Powell looks to reshape his squad.
He has made only four starts, with 10 further outings from the bench, this term and is behind the likes of Sean Scannell, Harry Bunn, Joe Lolley and Adam Hammill in the pecking order.
Leeds, who visit Town on January 31, are keen to recruit a wide player as they aim to move away from the Championship relegation zone.
A fourth defeat in five games at Derby County on Tuesday left them 20th, just one point above the bottom three.
Bradford-born Ward, who has also been linked with Blackpool, where his old Town boss Lee Clark is in charge, scored 10 goals in 40 games (29 starts) last season.
Take a look back at some of the fans' favourite goals of last season - including Ward's hat trick against Watford in May.
He joined Town permanently from Bolton after a loan stint at the end of the 2010-11 League I campaign.
Brought in to replace the injured Anthony Pilkington, he netted three times in 10 appearances, featuring in all three play-off games (against Bournemouth in the semis and Peterborough in the Old Trafford final, when Town lost 3-0).
He was signed permanently after Pilkington joined Norwich in a £3m package deal that summer and in total, has made 140 Town appearances (95 starts) and scored 21 goals.
Ward, on Leeds’ books from Under 12 to 16 level, was in the starting side when Town beat Sheffield United on penalties in the 2012 League I play-off final at Wembley.
That provided a first final success in three attempts after he featured for Swindon, when on loan from Bolton, in the 2010 League I final against Millwall, who won 1-0 at Wembley after beating Town in the semis.
Ward, whose first junior football came at Bradford City, also had a stint on loan at Coventry while with Bolton, for whom he made two Premier League appearances, both from the bench.
