Manchester United's Long-Term Replacement For Michael Carrick Is Reportedly A Liverpool Player

There's only a handful of players that have played for Liverpool and Manchester United.

Paul Ince, Michael Owen, Allenby Chilton, Phil Chisnall and Peter Beardsley have worn the famous jerseys of two of the biggest rivals in world football.

So will German midfielder Emre Can be another player to swap Anfield for Old Trafford? According to Corriere dello Sport via Liverpool Echo, Jose Mourinho is keen on the 23-year-old's services.

Emre Can

Mourinho feels Can is the ideal long-term replacement for Michael Carrick, who has only made one appearance for United this season - a 4-1 victory in the EFL Cup against Burton Albion.

The German international has impressed since making the move to Anfield from Bayer Leverkusen in 2014, and many see him as one of the best midfielders in the Premier League.

Can has made 132 appearances for the Reds since arriving from Leverkusen in a £12 million deal, in 2014, scoring 10 goals and establishing himself in Germany's national team setup.

Can

Can's current contract situation could potentially mean that the 23-year-old leaves Anfield for nothing next July, and could even begin negotiating a pre-contract agreement with a new club as early as January.

Liverpool have tried tying Can down to a new deal for the last few months but as of yet, no progress has been made, which originally alerted Juventus to the Germany international's availability.

What is for sure - If Liverpool don't manage to persuade Can to stay at Anfield, plenty of potential suitors will line up for his signature.

In another twist to the saga, according to the Times, Can wants a transfer release clause added to any new deal but the Reds don't want to add one in and would rather lose him on a free next summer.

There has been little or no progress in discussions, according to the report, for about a year because of the detail that Can and his representatives want put in place.

Somewhat ironically, the Premier League side brought him to England from the Bundesliga after exploiting a transfer release clause of £9.75 million in his Leverkusen contract.

Emre Can to Manchester United?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Topics: Liverpool, Man utd

Jack Kenmare

Jack Kenmare is a writer at SPORTbible. He's interviewed some of the biggest names in sport, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Pele, Carles Puyol and Tim Henman. He dabbles in all things sport but football is his biggest passion. He was once hit in the head by a wayward strike from Nicky Butt and lived to tell the tale.

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