Liverpool have made a higher bid than Manchester United for Hoffenheim forward Roberto Firmino, Football Express News understands.
The agent of Manchester United target Roberto Firmino has confirmed the Hoffenheim forward will be playing in the Premier League next season, according to German newspaper Bild.
Firmino, currently representing Brazil at the Copa America in Chile, has emerged as a surprise target for United boss Louis van Gaal this summer, and reports last weeksuggested the two clubs had reached an agreement over a £13.1 million fee.
However, further claims in English and German media have reported that Liverpool have made a late bid, higher than United’s, which Hoffenheim officials are willing to accept.
The 23-year-old was expected to tie up the formalities of the transfer by agreeing personal terms and undergoing a medical with United while he remains in South America, but United will have to wait and see if the forward wants to discuss a potential deal with Brendan Rodgers’s side.
And his agent, Roger Wittmann, has confirmed the deal that will take Firmino to England will be completed on his return – although he stopped short of revealing his client’s exact destination with United rumoured to be the front runners for his signature.
“All I can say is that he’s moving to England,” Wittmann told Bild.
Firmino, who scored seven goals in the Bundesliga last season, is valued between £18m and £21m by Hoffenheim and his proposed switch to Old Trafford is expected to be a club record fee for the German club – eclipsing £14.5m fee from the sale of CarlosEduardo to Rubin Kazan in 2010.