Fulham are the frontrunners in the race to sign VfB Stuttgart winger Silas, according to reports from Germany.

Bild suggests that the winger is looking for more regular first-team football after mainly being used as a substitute by Sebastian Hoeneß as Die Roten finished runners-up to Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga last season. Stuttgart are said to be seeking a fee of around £8.5m for the DR Congo international, who has scored 35 goals in 129 games in five years with Stuttgart.

The 25 year-old has attracted interest from Villarreal, Auxerre, and Lens so Fulham will need to more swiftly to snare his signature. The Whites failed with two attempts to sign their long-term target in January and had a bid of £6.8m rebuffed last week.