Manchester United were heavily linked with a summer move for Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde and now Liverpool have joined them in pursuing the left-back.
The Red Devils were expected to make a signing at left-back over the last transfer window as they are short in that position.
Luke Shaw remains first choice, with Patrick Dorgu as his understudy, but the Denmark international has been used more as a winger by Michael Carrick.
Despite this, Manchester United did not make a signing at full-back and are already under a bit of pressure as Shaw has picked up an injury and missed the defeat to Manchester City on Sunday.
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Liverpool signed Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth last year, who replaced long-term left-back Andy Robertson as first choice.
Robertson has now left for Tottenham despite Kerkez struggling to convince anyone that he is an upgrade on the Scot.
The Reds have Kostas Tsimikas as competing for Kerkez, with the Greece international starting in the goalless draw with Fulham on Saturday.
Both Premier League giants are interested in upgrading their options at left-back and Balde has emerged on their radars.
Spanish publication Sport reports that both Manchester United and Inter Milan were circling in the summer, while Liverpool have now joined the race, with manager Andoni Iraola interested in doing a deal.
The 22-year-old is yet to play in La Liga yet this season after falling down the pecking order at Barcelona.
The report from Spain suggests that he could be available for around €40 million (£34m) if the Premier League clubs come calling in January.
Balde made big strides early in his Barca career as he played 44 times in the 2022/23 season across all competitions, after breaking into the team as a teenager.
The seven-cap Spain international was named in the La Liga Team of the Season for 2022/23 and his potential seemed enormous.
He has made 168 appearances for the Catalan giants and already has three La Liga titles to his name.
However, Xavi Espart and Joao Cancelo now appear to be ahead of him in manager Hansi Flick’s thoughts.