As Manchester United and Liverpool prepare to face off in the English Premier League on Sunday, there could be another battle brewing between the two big clubs of England, with both teams reportedly keen on Ajax youngster Anwar El Ghazi.
Manchester United and Liverpool are looking to strengthen their attacking department in the January transfer window and at the end of the season, and with both Louis Van Gaal and Jurgen Klopp partial to moulding young players, El Ghazi fits the "he could be a really good signing" bill.
With goals hard to come by, both Manchester United and Liverpool will welcome any quality attacking signing, and, according to the Daily Mirror, who quote a report on Tuttosport, the two Premier League sides have identified El Ghazi as the ideal candidate to add some flair to their forward line.
While El Ghazi, who is also a target for Serie A giants AC Milan, is not a lead-the-line centre-forward, the Ajax man has the ability to play across the attacking line, even if he is at his best coming in from the wide positions. At 20, El Ghazi will only improve, and considering Ajax have a great tradition of producing quality players, signing him at the quoted price of £8million might not be such a bad idea, for either Liverpool or Manchester United.
Meanwhile, looking forward to the big derby match at Anfield on Sunday, Van Gaal believes Manchester United, while without a title in over three years, are too big a club to go 26 years without a league title, like Liverpool, who last won the crown in 1990.
"I am part of the transition so I cannot imagine that shall happen with Manchester United," Van Gaal told reporters. "But as you say when it is happening to Liverpool it can happen also to Manchester United.
"But I cannot imagine that, as we are in position and we are going in the right way. Maybe it shall take a longer time but I cannot imagine that it shall be the same for Manchester United -- it's too big, too well organised and we have infrastructure and we are improving that every year."