Premiership rivals are monitoring Wigan Athletic's battle to secure Paul Scharner to a new contract.

Latics boss Steve Bruce is desperate to hang on to his defensive lynchpin and has tabled a two-year contract extension.

But the Austrian, who missed Euro 2008 after falling out with the coach, is wanted by Sunderland and Fulham and is refusing to commit himself to Wigan to keep his options open.

Scharner, 28, plans to speak to other clubs in January and said: "Moving now would be an option, but I still have a contract at Wigan until the summer of 2009."