NEWPORT Gwent Drag-ons lock Luke Charteris, pictured, is being targeted by European champions Wasps and other Welsh regions.

The 6ft 10in 18st 3lb lock is highly rated and though he has spent a large part of the season on the injured list his huge potential has not gone unnoticed.

He is under contract to the Dragons for another season, and if he becomes unsettled by all the attention or dissatisfied with his current contract could try to negotiate his release in much the same way as Ross Beattie did when he moved to Northampton.

There is a coaching issue with Charteris, too, as there was with Beattie. For the rising star was capped at international level before he made his debut for the Dragons.

Coach Chris Anderson, who succeeded Wales chief Mike Ruddock, claimed a player should not be picked for his country because he was 6ft 10in and that other locks playing regularly had every right to feel aggrieved.

That was a reference to persistent injuries which kept Charteris out of the reckoning with the Dragons and are still persisting.

But, undeterred, Ruddock capped Charteris in the Autumn, convinced as long ago as last season when he was in charge of the Dragons that the player was a future star.

Charteris was capped against South Africa as a replacement in November and then started the game against Romania.

But his appearances for the Dragons have been limited to just three starts and two as a replacement because of hamstring, toe and rib injuries, the latter keeping him out of the Six Nations frame.

But that hasn't stopped other clubs and regions leading the way in trying to sign him, though any official approach would be illegal as he is under contract.

Wasps have fallen from their pedestal this season, missing out on qualification for the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup and down to third in the Zurich Premiership table.

England lock Simon Shaw could be nearing the end of his career - already believed to be a target for Neath-Swansea Ospreys - and Charteris could be seen as an ideal replacement.

Other Welsh regions are also watching the Charteris situation closely and would welcome him to their ranks.