Red Bull Salzburg are reportedly ready to battle Bolton for the
signature of Japan international Alex.
The Urawa Red Diamonds ace is being tipped to move on in January
and Bolton boss Sam Allardyce has confirmed an interest.
But Allardyce may have competition in his attempts to bring Alex to
The Reebok Stadium with news of interest from Salzburg.
The Austrian side are keen to move into the lucrative Asian market
and are looking to Alex and Gamba Osaka's Tsuneyasu Miyamoto to
raise the club's profile in the region.
Miyamoto would like the chance to ply his trade outside of Japan at
some point in his career and could get his wish if a deal can be
agreed between the two clubs.
However, Salzburg boss Giovanni Trappatoni is adamant he won't be
rushed into making any moves in January.
"We have a good squad here, we won't be putting pressure on
ourselves to sign new players," he said.