Three Serie A clubs are fronting the queue to sign Leeds United outcast Giuseppe Bellusci this summer, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post.
The newspaper claim that the 27-year-old defender has been granted permission to remain in Italy this summer instead of returning to pre-season training with the first-team squad at Elland Road.
Bellusci, who has another 12 months left to run on his current deal, has been deemed surplus to requirements by the club, with Italian top-flight trio Cagliari, Bologna and Benevento all interested.
The Italian defender spent the 2016-17 season on loan at Empoli, where he made 33 appearances in all competitions, but he will not be returning to Leeds despite reaching the end of his loan agreement.
The Championship outfit have instead allowed Bellusci to spend the summer in Italy in an attempt to push through a deal to join a Serie A club.
Empoli had the option to sign the Leeds outcast on a permanent deal, but their relegation from Serie A on the final day of last season all but eliminated his chances of an extended stay.
Bellusci is understood to favour a return to his homeland this summer having struggled to make an impact in England, and United manager Thomas Christiansen will not stand in his way.
The former Italy Under-21 international moved to Elland Road from Catania in 2014, and has since made 61 appearances for the club in all competitions.
Members of the Leeds first-team squad returned for pre-season training at their Thorp Arch base on Monday, and Bellusci was among the absentees as he seeks to resolve his future.