Leicester manager Nigel Pearson has confirmed that the club are trying to sign former Holland international midfielder Edgar Davids.

The 36-year-old, who has 65 caps for his country, has played for Ajax, AC Milan, Juventus, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Tottenham and is available on a free transfer after his second spell at Ajax came to an end in the summer of 2008.

Davids is thought to be keen on a return to England having played for Spurs between 2005 and 2007 and Press Association Sport understands that Portsmouth are also interested in signing the player.

Leicester manager Nigel Pearson said: "When players become available, if they are the right players for us then we investigate it.

"There has been interest but after that I am not in a position to comment further. There is nothing to elaborate on at the moment.

"There has been interest in both directions, but whether it comes to anything is another story."

Luring Davids to the Walkers Stadium would represent a remarkable coup for the Championship club, who on their return to the second tier are eighth in the table but just three points behind league leaders West Brom.

Davids began his career in his homeland with Ajax in 1991 and went on to win the European Cup with them in 1995.

He moved to AC Milan in 1996 before joining Juventus a year later and was a European Cup runner-up on three other occasions during that spell in Italy.

Davids joined Tottenham in August 2005 where he spent 18 months before returning to Ajax in January 2007.

He has not played competitive football since leaving the Dutch giants.