Julen Lopetegui is reportedly eyeing up a Wolves move for Stoke City central defender Harry Souttar in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Impressive World Cup

Souttar has come off the back of an impressive FIFA World Cup with Australia, where he ranked as their best-performing player and helped them qualify for the knockout stages of the competition, before they were lost to eventual winners Argentina.

Lauded as ‘huge, quick’ and an ‘absolute monster’ of a defender by The Athletic journalist Jordan Campbell after his heroics in Qatar, and ‘like superman’ by pundit Danny Murphy after a stunning late challenge in a 1-0 win over Tunisia in the group stages, Souttar is now concentrating in firing Stoke up the league table in the Championship, although he may have just earned himself a move to the Premier League come January.

The Latest: Lopetegui interest

As per TEAMtalk, Lopetegui is eyeing a January move for Souttar in order to bolster his team’s defensive options.

The report outlines his 'remarkable' performances at the World Cup, considering that he only recently recovered from a serious knee injury, which ruled him out for over a year.

Souttar was attracting interest from clubs in the top flight prior to his injury, and Stoke are bracing themselves for interest again in January.

West Ham United are also thought to be eying up a deal, and Stoke would find it hard to resist any sizeable offers.

The Verdict: Get it done

After letting the likes of Conor Coady, Willy Boly, Romain Saiss and Leander Dendoncker go in the summer, the Old Gold have left themselves fairly short in the centre-back area.

Souttar would surely relish the opportunity of the step up from the Championship to the Premier League, where he has excelled as Stoke’s best performer, despite missing a large chunk of the campaign through injury.

Nonetheless, the six-foot-six colossus has been a standout performer for both club and country, and at 24 years of age, deserves a chance to prove himself in the top flight.