Reports: Liverpool, Manchester Utd and Barcelona fight for £20m Juan Cuadrado
Liverpool, Manchester United and Barcelona are all thought to be interested in signing Colombia and Fiorentina star Juan Cuadrado for around £20 million, according to the Gazzetta dello Sport.
It is thought that new Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal, who led the Netherlands to a 5-1 win over Spain on Friday, is targeting Cuadrado and would like to sign him for a fee of around £20 million.
He faces stiff competition from Barcelona, though, whose new manager Luis Enrique is looking at bringing in more quality in a bid to win silverware in his first season in charge of the Catalan giants.
Barcelona finished trophyless last season in Gerardo Martino’s only season in charge and with a transfer ban coming up next term, Enrique is in charge of a big overhaul of players in the first-team squad.
Cesc Fabregas, Carles Puyol, Pinto and Victor Valdes have already left Barcelona with Ivan Rakitic and Marc-Andre ter Stegen brought in recently. The next target on his list is thought to be Cuadrado, who had a storming season in Serie A with Fiorentina and has carried that into the World Cup with Colombia.
Liverpool, managed by Brendan Rodgers, have also been linked to the versatile wide man this summer and could also challenge Man Utd for his signature. After finishing second in the Premier League last season and confirming their place in the Champions League next season, the Reds have greater pulling power over United at present and could use that to their advantage.
In 32 Serie A appearances, Cuadrado scored 11 goals and assisted a further five.