All of Liverpool, Barcelona and Manchester City are reportedly ready to battle for the signature of Lecce left-back Patrick Dorgu in January.
The 18-year-old was a member of the Nordsjaelland academy in his homeland, where he caught the eye of Lecce with three goals and two assists in 22 games for the Under-19s.
Dorgu joined Lecce's youth ranks on an initial loan deal for the 2022-23 season and continued to grow his reputation in Italy, netting four times in 33 Primavera 1 to help his side win the title.
Dorgu's stay was made permanent this summer for a mere €200,000 (£173,400), and the teenager has enjoyed a first-team breakthrough with nine first-team outings in the current campaign.
The Denmark youth international already has eight Serie A appearances to his name - including starts against Lazio and Juventus, helping Lecce upset the former in a 2-1 win on his top-flight debut.
Capable of playing as a left-back or further forward, Dorgu - who stands at 6ft 1in tall - also registered an assist on his Coppa Italia debut in August, setting up Pontus Almqvist's goal in a 1-0 win over Como.
Dorgu is still waiting to make his bow for Denmark at senior level, but he made his debut for the Under-21s last month, playing 73 minutes of a friendly defeat to Slovakia.
The 2004-born protege is not due to become a free agent for another four years, but according to La Gazzetta dello Sport - via FourFourTwo - several European clubs are eyeing up a January approach.
Liverpool are apparently leading the race to sign Dorgu, whose agent Kingsley Ogbodo revealed in June that the Reds were indeed hoping to bring his client to Anfield in 2024.
However, Jurgen Klopp already has Andy Robertson and Kostas Tsimikas available to him at left-back, and Dorgu would therefore ply his trade with the youth team upon his arrival.
As a result, Ogbodo confirmed that he told Dorgu to turn down a move to Liverpool in favour of continuing his development with Lecce, where first-team opportunities would be easier to come by.
Furthermore, the defender would not be expected to nail down a place in Man City or Barcelona's first teams right away, and Ogbodo affirmed in the summer that money is not important for his client.
Nevertheless, Liverpool could be light at left-back in the coming weeks after Robertson suffered a dislocated shoulder in Scotland's recent Euro 2024 qualifying defeat to Spain.
The 29-year-old is believed to have been sent for a scan on Friday, and while his length of absence is yet to be determined, he is expected to miss next weekend's Merseyside derby at the very least.
Tsimikas is therefore set to make his first Premier League start of the season against Everton, having recently penned a new contract with the Reds until the summer of 2027. body check tags ::
