Birmingham City midfielder Alen Halilovic is attracting significant interest ahead of the summer transfer window.

What's the talk?

That's according to a report by the Croatian outlet tportal, who claim that the Blues attacking midfielder is a target for clubs in Spain, Italy, England and Turkey after his spell in the Championship this season.

The report goes on to state that Lee Bowyer is desperate to keep hold of the £720k-rated 24-year-old this summer, and has offered the former Barcelona man a new deal at St. Andrew's.

However, due to the interest in his services, tportal reveal that it is unclear whether Halilovic will accept Birmingham's offer of a new contract, with the midfielder's current deal set to expire next month.

Bowyer will be gutted

Having joined Birmingham on a free transfer back in November, Halilovic initially struggled to hold down a place in the Blues team, often being utilised as a second-half substitute by Aitor Karanka.

However, after the arrival of Bowyer in March, the Croatia international began to feature a lot more prominently for the Championship side, starting six consecutive games for the club over the run-in of the second-tier season.

And, while the 24-year-old - whom Davor Suker dubbed a "star" and claimed that he "reminds me of [Lionel] Messi" - was lacking in his returns of goals and assists in the league, managing a solo strike and nothing else, it is clear that the player who has been on the books of Barcelona, AC Milan and Hamburger SV has a significant amount of potential, and is clearly someone Bowyer would like to retain this summer.

As such, the fact that reports are suggesting Halilovic - whom Miroslav Bicanic dubbed a "phenomenal" player - could be looking to move on to pastures new upon the expiry of his contract will undoubtedly come as a blow to the 44-year-old, as, with a full pre-season behind him, the Croatian could well play a big role in firing Birmingham City up the Championship table next season.

In other news: £3.6m-per-goal: Bowyer must avoid BCFC swoop for "skilful" £30k-p/w dud this summer - opinion