Liverpool will challenge Arsenal for the signing of Nottingham Forest defender Jamaal Lascelles this summer.
The 20-year-old centre-back has been watched twice in the last two weeks by the Reds’ chief scout Dave Fallows, according to the Sunday People. He was most recently scouted in the midweek FA Cup tie at Preston.
He was on the scoresheet at Blackpool yesterday, but Fallows is not believed to have been in attendance.
The youngster is a long-term target for Arsenal, with Arsene Wenger having a £5m bid rejected as far back as January 2011. They were expected to launch a fresh approach last month, but that didn’t materialise.
It seems almost certain that the stylish, skillful defender will be in the Premier League next season, either with the Gunners, Reds or having won promotion with Billy Davies’ Forest.
Lascelles is also wanted by Newcastle, while Everton were recently fined by the FA over an illegal approach for him made in 2010.
