Hannover 96 sporting director Martin Bader has admitted the club would love to re-sign Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker.
The German is currently out of action through injury and he is yet to be offered a new contract - even though his present deal expires at the end of the season.
That would mean the 32-year-old could leave on a free next summer and Hannover, who first signed Mertesacker when he was 11, are open to bringing the defender back to his boyhood club.
"Everybody knows what Hannover means to Per. Maybe we can make him enthusiastic about a return," Bader told Bild.