Manchester United & Liverpool join race for Salzburg's Patson Daka
By Tom Gott
Manchester United and Liverpool have joined Manchester City and Arsenal in scouting Red Bull Salzburg hitman Patson Daka ahead of a potential summer move.
After Erling Haaland was sold to Borussia Dortmund, Daka was the man drafted in as Salzburg's starting striker and he has enjoyed an excellent season. The 22-year-old has racked up 20 goals in just 18 league games and has been earmarked for his own big move away this summer.
90min revealed in October 2020 that both City and Arsenal had been keeping tabs on Daka, with scouts adamant he is ready for a big move to the Premier League.
Now, Salzburger Nachrichten state that the English duo have been joined by both United and Liverpool, who see Daka as a potential bargain in their search for a new starting striker.
Salzburg are keen to keep Daka in the summer but have made it clear that they are prepared to sell for the right price. They are expected to demand somewhere close to the £17m Dortmund paid for Haaland, if not slightly more.
Speaking exclusively to 90min in France, Daka confessed to being a huge fan of Liverpool and admitted he fulfilled a lifelong dream by playing at Anfield in the 2019/20 Champions League group stage.
Reds boss Jurgen Klopp has been tipped to look for a new striker to rival Brazilian Roberto Firmino in an attempt to kick-start his stalling forward line, but if he is interested in Daka, he will have to fight off plenty of interest from elsewhere.
90min understands that in excess of 20 teams across Europe have registered their interest in Daka, but his desire to move to the Premier League could see him pay special attention to any offers from England.
Daka is keen to follow in the footsteps of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah and become the next African to light it up in the Premier League.
Both City and United are believed to favour a move for former Salzburg team-mate Haaland, who could cost well over £100m, but it appears as though both have identified Daka as a cut-price alternative.