Bayern Munich have joined the list of teams that have enquired about the future of Real Madrid defender Eder Militao, with Juventus, Tottenham and Borussia Dortmund having already made preliminary approaches for the Brazilian.
There have been no official bids made for Militao thus far, with sides from England, Germany and Italy more interested in finding out Madrid's plans for the centre-back, who has found himself as fourth choice behind Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane and Nacho.
Brazil boss Tite clearly counts the 22-year-old among his plans for the Selecao, having most recently been called up to face Venezuela in November.
He was snubbed for the latest round of World Cup qualifiers, however, and a lack of playing time at club level is likely to have contributed to that decision.
Militao was overlooked once again as recently as Thursday's Super Cup loss to Athletic Club, with Nacho replacing Varane at the halfway mark after the Frenchman suffered an untimely knock in the first half.
The situation has led Bayern to explore the possibility of bringing in Militao to replace David Alaba, with the Austrian seemingly on the verge of agreeing terms with Madrid ahead of the expiration of his contract in the summer.
For Militao's part, the versatile stopper's priority is to remain with Madrid as he would like to write his name into the history books of the club, while also settling in comfortably to life in the Spanish capital.
Becoming a club legend requires playing time, however, which has been hard to come by this season. Militao respects the decisions made by coach Zinedine Zidane, but is thought to be keeping his short-term options open in order to ensure he continues getting minutes.
Facing up to a summer with the Copa America and Olympic Games, playing time will undoubtedly be pivotal if he is to be selected, but a winter transfer – even a loan with an option to buy – would border on impossible as clubs are strapped for cash.
In addition, Madrid would want to recoup the majority of the €50 million (£44m/$61m) they paid Porto for the player.
Whatever happens, the next few months is likely to have a huge impact on Militao's career.