Yamaha has "expressed interest" in Vinales, admits team chief

Speaking ahead of this weekend's round at Jerez, Spain, the mastermind behind the Japanese manufacturer's hugely successful squad admitted that talks were ongoing, but that "several riders" remained in the frame.

When asked specifically about Vinales's chances, Jarvis replied: "Certainly Maverick has proven that he's one of the new, future talents of MotoGP.

"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, and there's an ongoing discussion."

No deal done yet

Jarvis said media reports that a deal was close to being struck with the 21-year-old Spaniard were inaccurate.

"Things are never as straightforward and simple as they seem," he said. "Behind the scenes, there's lots of complications and issues.

"The fortunate thing is we have a really good bike, and a really good team, so it's an attractive package on offer."

When asked about the timeframe for a decision, he replied: "Realistically, there's no time limit.

"With Jorge's proposal, we had a limit on that which forced a situation that could've dragged on for a long, long time. We'll take our time, and what's important is that we make the right selection."