Last Updated: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:11
Reading have made the first move for Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne as an auction looks set to develop for the Under-21 star.
Wolverhampton Wanderers could follow with a new enquiry of their own after reports claimed Royals boss Brendan Rodgers hopes to be at the front of the queue if Chelsea decide to sell the 21-year-old.
Mancienne spent the first half of last season on loan at Molineux and would fall within manager Mick McCarthy's budget as he looks to build a squad capable of staying in the Premier League.
But Rodgers' contacts at Cobham, where he used to run the reserve team for Chelsea, mean that he could still land the England Under-21 defender who returns from a nightmare tournament in Sweden next week.
Mancienne lost his place in Stuart Pearce's line-up after being sent off in the opening match against Finland and failed to impress when named in a shadow team against Germany when his lapse in concentration allowed the Germans to score in the opening three minutes.