Approach made: Liverpool and Manchester United face being beaten to quality transfer

Posted by

Barcelona have reportedly begun the process of trying to beat Liverpool and Manchester United to the transfer of Real Betis left-back Junior Firpo.

The Blaugrana are looking to find backups for Jordi Alba and according to a report from Sport, Firpo is Barca’s top priority to add some depth to the left-back department.

Sport also claim that the Catalan giants have contacted the Dominican Republic-born player, but that nothing will be finalised until he returns with the rest of the Real Betis squad from Mexico.

MORE: €70m Liverpool target ready to force move to Juventus

Firpo made 29 appearances for Real Betis last season, scoring 3 goals and providing 5 assists. The 22-year-old was a part of the Spanish side that won the UEFA U21 Euros in Italy and San Marino, making three appearances during the tournament including in the final.

Liverpool and Manchester United were also reported to be interested in signing the left-back, according to Marca. Following the departure of Alberto Moreno, Liverpool don’t have any backup for Andrew Robertson. Hence, they were interested in signing Firpo and, according to Sport, have also shown an interest in Augsburg’s Philipp Max.

Manchester United also need some backup in the left-back department as barring Luke Shaw, the only options the Red Devils have at left-back are Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Ashley Young neither of whom really look good enough, while some would also argue Shaw could be improved upon anyway.

However, it looks like Barcelona are stepping up their interest ahead of the Premier League duo to the signature of Firpo. If Barca do succeed in winning the race for his signature, he will be their 5th summer signing, following big-name arrivals like Antoine Griezmann and Frenkie de Jong.

More Stories Junior Firpo