Malaga boss Bernd Schuster is aiming to convince Besiktas defender Ersan Gulum to join him at La Rosaleda.
The 26-year-old, who played under Schuster during his nine-month spell in charge of the Turkish outfit, can also operate at left-back and, according to El Desmarque, the German has called him personally in a bid to persuade him to try his luck in La Liga.
Born in Australia, Gulum represented the Australia Under-23 team before deciding to represent Turkey at senior level, although he is yet to be capped.
Schuster, in the meantime, is still waiting on a decision from Martin Demichelis over whether or not the centre-back will accept the offer of a new contract, with the Costa del Sol club already having signed youngster Flavio Ferreira from Academica Coimbra as cover in case the Argentine international decides to leave.