Schalke defender Benedikt Howedes has put contract renewal negotiations with the German side on hold, alerting Manchester United to his potential availabilty, according to a report on TalkSport. Sir Alex Ferguson has been in the market for a new centre-back for a while now as he seeks to one day replace the ageing Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, and he views the 24-year old as the ideal candidate. Howedes has also snared the attention of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger recently, whilst Liverpool were interested in him last summer. He is the current captain for Schalke and has a contract with them that runs until 2014, and the German's are eager to get him to sign an extension. However, the news that the player is not interested in doing so at the moment might give Ferguson an opportunity to make a bid for the player, who is rated as one of the best defenders in the Bundesliga. Schalke however remain confident of keeping hold of their prized asset, and senior figures believe the players' reasoning to put contract renewal talks on hold is simply down to his desire to concentrate purely on the rest of the season. Schalke are currently 7th in the league, five points off a Champions League Qualification spot.