Chelsea, Manchester United, Everton and West Ham have joined the scouting mission for Cagliari midfielder Nicolo Barella, who has long been a Liverpool target.
Considered one of the top young talents in Italy, the 21-year-old midfielder has been attracting the prying eyes of clubs from across Europe for over a year.
Serie A giant such as Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Roma have been keeping tabs on him for several months and Liverpool have been keeping a close watch on him; Cagliari recently did business with Liverpool when they bought Ragnar Klavan.
However, it has been claimed that more clubs in the Premier League are now alive to his talent and according to Italian daily Corriere dello Sport, a flock of scouts from England watched him in action on Wednesday night against Sampdoria.
Scouts representing Chelsea, Manchester United, Everton and West Ham were at the Sardegna Arena to run the rule over the Italy Under-21 international.
The young midfielder was the Cagliari captain for the evening as his side played out a 0-0 draw against Sampdoria at home.
It remains to be seen if any of his suitors are considering a move for him in January or are prepared to wait until next summer.
A product of the Cagliari academy, the young midfielder signed a new contract until 2022 in January this year, when there was heavy speculation over his future at the club.
