Maverick Vinales is one of several riders with a shot of replacing outgoing champion Jorge Lorenzo at Yamaha, according to team chief Lin Jarvis.
With Lorenzo confirming a move to Ducati for the 2017 season and Valentino Rossi agreeing a new two-year deal to remain at Yamaha, the team are on the look-out for a new team-mate for the Italian rider.
Jarvis confirmed talks with Suzuki's Vinales are currently underway, but the 21-year-old was just one of many.
"Certainly Maverick has proven that he's one of the new, future talents of MotoGP," said Jarvis.
"He has a very good chance to go on and become a world champion in the future, so he's an attractive rider. There are other options, riders with different profiles.
"We're in discussion with the management of several riders, it's absolutely premature to say we're close or not close.
"We've expressed our interest [to Vinales management], and there's an ongoing discussion."
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