Man Utd & Liverpool to table offers for £40m star as agent jets in for talks with duo

Agents representing Saul Niguez will fly in to the UK on Monday to hold talks with Manchester United and Liverpool with the duo expected to put forward their offers for the £40m-rated Atletico Madrid star, according to the Mirror.

Niguez has been with Atletico his entire professional career having joined the clubs youth set-up as a child and he’s developed into one of the best all-round midfielders in Spanish football in recent years.

The 26-year-old has been a key part of Diego Simeone’s side and played 41 times in all competitions to help Atletico win the La Liga title last season while he’s also been a regular in the Spanish national team squad.

However, Niguez’s future is in serious doubt as his first team place is under threat following the arrival of Rodrigo de Paul from Udinese this summer and the Mirror says Atletico are ready to cash-in as they need to balance the books.

The situation has alerted clubs here in the Premier League as Niguez has been strongly linked with a move to Manchester United and Liverpool in recent weeks and it looks like the duo are about to enter formal negotiations over a potential deal.

The Mirror claims that Niguez’s agents will fly in to the UK on Monday to hold talks with officials from United and Liverpool with the aim of getting a transfer agreed to one of the north-west giants by the end of next week.

According to the newspaper, Niguez wants to move to England before the new season kicks-off and Atletico have given the midfielder permission to hold formal negotiations with Man Utd and Liverpool over a possible move.

The Mirror suggests that Manchester United are in pole position ahead of the Merseysiders but both clubs will put forward their offers during talks with the representatives next week with the aim of getting a deal wrapped-up quickly.

Niguez has a buyout clause in his contract worth a whopping £125m but the report says Atletico know there’s no chance they’ll get that kind of money in today’s market so will accept £35m to £40m this summer.

That would represent an excellent deal for a player of his quality so Man Utd or Liverpool will be getting a relative bargain if they can get a deal agreed to sign Niguez for £40m or less.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is seemingly in the market for another midfielder amid on-going doubts surrounding the future of Paul Pogba while Jurgen Klopp needs a replacement for Gini Wijnaldum following his free transfer move to PSG.

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Niguez would be a superb signing for either club but we’ll have to wait for further updates once talks between United, Liverpool and the agents take place next week to see if a deal is going to be done.