Kell Brook is a potential opponent for Manny Pacquiao

Promoter Eddie Hearn has been holding talks over a Kell Brook-Manny Pacquiao fight this year, but a British battle against Amir Khan remains his top priority.

The Filipino star is set to face Australia's Jeff Horn in April and a fight against Brook in Britain could be part of a planned world tour, with Hearn confirming he held negotiations with Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum.

But Khan remains the main target for Brook, who is also due to make a defence of his IBF welterweight title against mandatory challenger Errol Spence Jr in the next few months.

We are ready to go with that right now, but I think they like the idea of fighting Horn first, so we will now try and work for an Autumn fight. Eddie Hearn

"I have been speaking with Bob Arum about a Kell Brook versus Manny Pacquiao fight," Hearn told Sky Sports.

"We are ready to go with that right now, but I think they like the idea of fighting Horn first, so we will now try and work for an Autumn fight.

The long awaited Amir Khan fight is still top of Brook's list

"Obviously our priority is the big British fight with Amir and we also have the Errol Spence Jr fight. Either way, Kell's future will be mapped out in the next month."

Brook was given more time to fit a mandatory defence into his schedule after he suffered a broken eye socket in his brave stoppage defeat to Gennady Golovkin in September.

Errol Spence has become Kell Brook's mandatory challenger

IBF Championships chairman, Lindsey E Tucker, expects a decision on the Spence fight to be made by next month.

"Errol Spence Jr won two eliminator bouts to become the mandatory challenger, so he's the mandatory," Tucker told Sky Sports.

"It was due on the December 26, but unfortunately Kell Brook got injured, so we have to give him some additional time.

"There is no deadline, we notify him in February to start the negotiations, the ball starts to roll."