Reports from France claim that Monaco defender Benoit Badiashile is a long-term target for Wolves.
L’Equipe claim that Wolves have already made contact with the Ligue 1 club to find out how much the defender would cost.
They have been quoted €30 million (£25 million) but Badiashile will not move to Molineux during the current transfer window.
Wolves have already said they are not expecting to be particularly active this month, so all work being done is with a summer transfer in mind.
One potential snag there is Newcastle are also interested in the defender.
They need players to come in and make an instant impact so are looking at whether they can sign Badiashile before the end of the month.
They are of course mega-rich now having been taken over earlier this season and Wolves would likely find it very difficult to compete if it came down to a direct bidding war.
The situation may look very different by the summer. Newcastle could have been relegated to the Championship and Wolves could be in Europe.
Wolves are clearly trying to lay the groundwork for a potential move then, and the picture will become clearer in the months ahead.
Bruno Lage has already said he wants a new central defender this month, but he may need to be patient given the club’s plans for frugality this month.
- Predicted Wolves XI vs Liverpool: Three January signings start, including £10m man, Raul benched
- Wolves confirm 22-year-old is finally about to resume full training at Compton
- 'Tremendously talented': Manager delighted to have signed 21-year-old from Wolves
- 'Paying the toll': Paul Merson makes score prediction ahead of Wolves vs Liverpool
- 'We've tasked him': Wolves want £4.5m player to come back to Molineux with fluent English