Liverpool ready to battle Manchester United for the signing of Barcelona midfielder – report

Frenkie de Jong’s future at Barcelona continues to be a much-discussed topic even though the midfielder has time and again iterated his desire to continue at Camp Nou.

The midfielder has lost his starting berth at Barça this season to Xavi and is believed to have grown frustrated with his situation. At the same time, the Catalans might look to again offload him to get his wages off the books and generate revenue.

Manchester United made a lot of efforts to try and sign de Jong last summer and continue to hold an interest in the Netherlands international. However, according to SPORT, Liverpool have also now entered the race to sign Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona.

The Reds have made a torrid start to the season, with midfield emerging as the Achilles heel in Jurgen Klopp’s squad. The likes of James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Thiago Alcantara are in their thirties and have battled fitness problems of late.

Furthermore, three Liverpool midfielders – Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita, will see their contracts expire at the end of the season. And Arthur Melo will also be returning to Juventus once his loan deal expires.

So, Liverpool could do with added quality in the midfield department and it seems like Klopp & co. have set their sights on a move for de Jong.

The report states that ideally, Liverpool would want to sign the 25-year-old in the summer of next year. But given the continued injury woes in the squad, there may be a possibility that the Reds could bring forward those plans and launch a swoop in January itself.

The midfielder, for his part, would reportedly be open to an exit due to his current game-time situation. At the same time, he would get to play Champions League football at Anfield – something that was a major issue for his rejection of Manchester United this past summer.