Premiership clubs are on red alert after Matthew Kilgallon saw Sheffield United contract talks collapse.
Bolton, Wigan and Burnley are tracking the £5m-rated defender with a view to a bid in the January window, says the Daily Mail.
United have countered Kilgallon's claim that he has not been tabled a new deal by saying their offer was not acceptable.
But the two sides are so far apart that the club will have to let him realise his top-flight ambitions in order to maintain a high valuation.