Tottenham and Aston Villa are among the clubs monitoring Lyon attacking midfielder Pavel Sulc.
The 25-year-old has scored 13 goals in 29 appearances since joining from Viktoria Plzen in the summer.
He was on Villa's radar previously as well as other Premier League sides, but they wanted to see how he fared in a stronger competition first.
Lyon, however, now value Sulc at around £43million though there is hope that could be negotiated down.
Nottingham Forest and Leeds United have also checked on Sulc but the main threat to Villa and Spurs' interest is understood to come from Atletico Madrid.
The Spanish side have the allure to compete with Villa and Spurs plus the financial capacity.
Villa have been looking to strengthen in the position after picking up a number of injuries. They did try for Ruben Loftus-Cheek in January and are firmly in the mix for Fulham's Harry Wilson who is out of contract this summer though has also attracted attention from Everton.
Czech Republic international Sulc is three years younger than Wilson but would obviously command a greater fee.
Tottenham are looking to strengthen in a number of positions should they retain Premier League status. They are also among the clubs to have pitched for Bayern Munich midfield all-rounder Leon Goretzka who is free in the summer.