Norwich City are among three English clubs keen on signing out of contract Mainz midfielder Jean-Paul Boetius, according to a national newspaper report.

The Dutch international is supposedly on City's watchlist ahead of the summer transfer window, with the Telegraph reporting that the Canaries are joined by Middlesborough and Watford in monitoring his situation.

Boetius is set to be available on a free transfer upon the expiration of his contract at the Mewa Arena after spending three years with the German club.

As of yet, we understands there has been no contact between Boetius' representatives and Norwich over a potential move, with the midfielder open to all possibilities this summer.

The 28-year-old can play as an attacking midfielder or a winger, featuring in 31 games for the Bundesliga outfit so far this season, scoring twice and recording as many assists.

Norwich's preparations for the Championship will intensify in the weeks ahead after their relegation was confirmed last weekend.

Dean Smith has already held talks with sporting director Stuart Webber and deputy Neil Adams about what areas he feels the squad need to be strengthened.

Addressing their lack of creativity will be of paramount importance to the City chief, with Boetius reportedly among the options being considered to improve that area of City's game.

Boetius signed for Mainz from Feyenoord back in 2018 for a reported fee of £3.5m and has been a consistent member of the German side's plans since his arrival.

He was part of Feyenoord's Dutch Cup-winning squad alongside the likes of Robin van Persie back in 2017/18.

Boetius was once considered one of the brightest talents in Dutch football alongside Memphis Depay under Ronald Koeman's tutelage during his first spell with Feyenoord.

After Koeman departed to become Southampton manager, Boetius found himself out of favour at the Dutch club and swiftly moved to Swiss side Basel, where he won the title on two occasions.

Spells with Belgian club Genk and a return to Feyenoord followed, but at Mainz, Boetius has excelled as one of their playmakers.

At one stage, fans dubbed the Dutchman 'the Mainz Messi' due to his creative capabilities and work on the ball.

Despite the reports in England, Mainz head coach Bo Svensson would be keen to keep Boetius at the club if possible.

"He's the player with ideas and he's an important player during my time here, including staying up last season. I wouldn't mind if he stayed," Svensson said in an interview with the Allgemeine Zeitung.

"I assume that others have also seen that he is not a bad footballer." He added: "Especially now that everyone is on the market is still feeling the after-effects of Corona, free transfer players are particularly popular.”

Mainz' sporting director Christian Heidel believes it will ultimately come down to the 28-year-old whether he remains at the club or leaves this summer.

"We will have a conversation with him soon," Heidel told Kicker. "In the past, we didn't necessarily have the impression that he definitely wanted to stay in Mainz. That could have changed now, and we'll discuss it. We need players who can totally identify with Mainz and Mainz 05."