It’s no secret that most of the Brazil squad seem to want their follow countryman and Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho at Barcelona.
Neymar wants to recruit his international teammate to a Barca side already brimming with attacking muscle and David Luiz warned Reds fans they could lose him if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.
But while all eyes are on whether the Catalan club will actually translate any interest into tangible transfer action, a Premier League club are also sizing up the samba star.
League leaders Manchester City are eyeing up Coutinho to supplement their embarassment of attacking riches at the Etihad, having already poached Raheem Sterling to play alongside David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Wilfried Bony and Kevin De Bruye.
Manuel Pellegrini sees Coutinho as a natural successor to Silva, who will turn 30 in January, say the Mirror.
Thursday's Daily Mirror back page:
Klopp faces fight for Coutinho#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/zI2mZBeEnh— Nick Sutton (@suttonnick) October 7, 2015
The Blues see the 23-year-old as a long-term replacement to the Spanish world champion in the number 10 role.
He is apparently at the top of a 2016 hit list of targets and they could be ready to start the bidding at £50m.
