Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest monitor Hull defender Jacob Greaves

Hull defender Jacob Greaves is being monitored by Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest as they look to bolster their defensive ranks for next season.

Greaves is regarded as one of the most interesting defensive prospects outside the top flight. A left-footer, Greaves is most comfortable in central defence but has also been operating at left-back under Tigers boss Liam Rosenior.

He has already played more than 100 games for his hometown club and is regularly catching the eye of Premier League scouts, with Brentford also believed to be interested in the 22-year-old, who is also Hull’s vice-captain. He would also count as a home-grown player for top-flight clubs facing increasingly difficult juggling acts to balance their 25-man squads for the league campaign.

Greaves signed a new four-year deal, with an option for a further season, last summer and is valued at about £7million, with Hull braced for interest in him at the end of the campaign.

Greaves is enjoying life under Rosenior with Hull secure in mid-table despite a run of four matches without a win. He said: ‘He’s brought in some new ideas and it’s something the club probably needed, in terms of how he wants to take the club up.’

Hull have not been in the Premier League since relegation six years ago, while Rosenior was passed over for the Derby job in favour of Paul Warne earlier this term. The former Hull player had been Wayne Rooney’s assistant during a turbulent period in the Rams’ history but was not kept on after a spell as caretaker-boss at the start of the campaign.