Cardiff City are interested in West Bromwich Albion striker Charlie Austin, according to a report by The Telegraph.
The Bluebirds are set to rival fellow Championship side Derby County to land the experienced forward.
Austin, who is 31 years old, could leave West Brom this week before the end of the transfer window on Friday and is not short of options in the second tier.
He scored 11 goals in 38 games in all competitions for Slaven Bilic’s side last season to help them win promotion to the Premier League. However, he is now out-of-favour at the Hawthorns and will slip further down the pecking order if the Baggies land a striker over the coming days.
Austin is a proven goal scorer in the second tier and would be a shrewd signing by the Cardiff or Derby.
The forward made his name at Swindon Town and was snapped by Burnley in January 2011. He spent two-and-a-half years at Turf Moor and scored a combined 45 goals before QPR signed him in August 2013.
Austin carried on his goal scoring exploits in London and bagged 48 goals in 89 games for the R’s, helping them gain promotion to the Premier League in 2014.
Southampton came calling for him in January 2016 and he spent three seasons with the Saints in the top flight before dropping back to the Championship with West Brom last year.
Cardiff and Derby could now battle it out to bring him back to the Championship before Friday.