Interest in former Leeds United centre-forward Mirco Antenucci is heating up as Empoli and Benevento have joined Cremonese in the race to sign the 34-year-old.
The Italian spent two years with Leeds from 2014 to 2016, establishing himself as a popular figure at Elland Road, before returning to Italy.
Antenucci, who has been with Italian Serie A side SPAL since 2016, scored five goals from 35 league appearances last season, helping them finish 13th in the table.
With just one year left on his contract with the Ferrara-based club, the former Leeds striker has been given other options by a number of sides from both the first and second tier of Italian league football.
Teams including Brescia and Lecce, both of whom earned promotion to Serie A this term, expressed interest in him at the end of last season.
However, now the race looks to be heating up even more after Empoli, Benevento and Cremonese became the latest teams to show their desire to sign the striker, according to Sky Italia.
Last season saw Empoli relegated from the top tier, while Benevento and Cremonese finished third and nineth in Serie B respectively. Empoli had same amount of points as seventeenth placed Genoa to their name, but fell short of relegation safety on the basis of goal difference.
Whether Antenucci will be ready to move to Serie B despite having clubs from the top tier interested in him is yet to be known.
The ex-Leeds striker could also opt to see out his contract with SPAL next year.
