Everton are among the clubs showing interest in Lille defender Adama Soumaoro.
West Ham, Monaco, Sevilla and Borussia Dortmund have also been following the versatile 25-year-old who can play across the back line.
Lille are understood to have been told to raise £23million by the National Directorate of Management Control, the financial policing arm of the French league, or risk being relegated and face a ban on January recruitment.
Soumaoro is valued highly at around £20m by Lille and selling him could prove a convenient shortcut to their financial troubles.