Manchester United and Liverpool are set to rival Barcelona in the battle to sign highly-rated midfielder Saul Niguez from Atletico Madrid this summer, according to reports.
Barcelona are currently in advanced negotiations about a swap deal with Saul moving to the Camp Nou, having offered Antoine Griezmann as a makeweight to sign the midfielder.
But now, according to AS, both United and Liverpool will go head-to-head for the 26-year-old's signature if talks with the La Liga giants fall through.
Following the departure of Georginio Wijnaldum to Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month, the Reds will be particularly interested in central midfield reinforcements with Saul fitting just that bill.
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The 26-year-old has been with Atletico his entire professional career having progressed through their youth ranks and has transitioned into a world-class midfielder since establishing himself in the first-team set-up.
Spending almost a decade at the Spanish capital club, Saul has made a total of 337 appearances for Atletico, winning the La Liga, Copa del Rey and Europa League titles in the process.
However, the Spaniard has fallen out of favour with manager Diego Simeone, losing a spot in his preferred area of central midfield, with the arrival of Rodrigo De Paul from Udinese pushing him further down the pecking order.
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With that said, Atletico are now willing to let their one-club man fly the nest for €40m (£34.3m), despite him still having five years left on his current contract.
But where will the midfielder maestro be next season - Barca, United or Liverpool? Watch this space.
Topics: Liverpool, Manchester United, Transfers, Atletico Madrid, Premier League
