Liverpool target Dayot Upamecano also wanted by Barcelona in big-money move next summer
BARCELONA have reportedly joined Liverpool in the race for RB Leipzig star Dayot Upamecano.
German news outlet BILD claims Catalan chiefs are keen on snapping up the 18-year-old defender as they embark on an ambitious rebuild at the Nou Camp.
Neymar has already left while the likes of Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta and Javier Mascherano aren’t getting any younger.
Barca have already signalled their intent by spending a whopping £135m on whizkid Ousmane Dembele.
And Upamecano could be the next prodigy heading to Spain, despite strong interest from Liverpool.
The Reds have already agreed a deal to sign team-mate Naby Keita next summer.
And with the team in dire need of a new centre-back, Upamecano could be just the man to step up to the plate at Anfield.
Liverpool failed to secure top target Virgil van Dijk last summer, and Shay Given reckons they need to identify a plan B as quickly as possible.
He told Sky Sports: “It was well-documented they wanted Van Dijk in the summer. He didn’t arrive for whatever reason but you would have though a club the size of Liverpool would have had a plan B.
“Obviously Van Dijk on the last day, we kind of knew that it wasn’t going to happen. You think a club of that size would say, ‘well, we can’t get him, we tried everything’, so there should be a plan B.
“There should be another centre-half in Europe or world football that they could get to their football club.
“It’s clear the goals from last season and this season they’re conceding, and even Klopp himself is saying he’s sick of the same goals week in, week out.”
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