BRAZILIAN Hulk is reportedly being chased by French side St Etienne as the race hots up to land the 34-year-old.
French reports cited by Portuguese outlet Correio de Manha suggest the Ligue 1 team – who are managed by former Southampton and Leicester boss Claude Puel – are looking at Hulk to bolster their firepower up front.
St Etienne are down in 14th place having mustered just 18 points from 17 games.
They have the fourth-worst attack in the French league after only scoring 18 goals and could look to former Shanghai SIPG striker Hulk to improve things in front up front.
Hulk bid farewell to his Chinese employers after rejecting a new deal and will be available for FREE in the New Year.
But Premier League clubs are BANNED from poaching the former Zenit St Petersburg man as new Brexit rules mean Hulk does not fit the criteria for overseas signings.
Wolves were reportedly offered the chance to sign the player but as he has not played in any of Europe's top five leagues making a deal look virtually impossible.
From January 1, player must meet criteria determined on the league they are arriving from and their international experience.
Capped 48 times by Brazil, Hulk has not featured for his country since 2016 which counts against him in the work visa permutations.
His extravagant salary of £385,000 a week in the Chinese Super League was thought to be a stumbling block to any move.
But he is believed to be prepared to take a massive 90 per cent pay cut to engineer a move.
Reports suggest he would now be happy to play for just shy of £50,000 a week having lined his pocket with the riches on offer in China for the last four years.
Hulk spent four years with Porto from 2008 to 2012 – scoring 77 goals in 169 games – and his old side have been named as one of the clubs battling for his signature along with Brazilian team Palmeiras.
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