It is said that Barcelona is now in the lead to sign young playmaker Arthur Vermeeren from Royal Antwerp.

Vermeeren has only turned 18 this year, but he has already played 43 times for Antwerp as an adult, including all five games in this season’s Champions League group.

Because of how well he has been playing for his club team, Domenico Tedesco also gave him his first start for Belgium against Austria in October.

Fichajes says that Barcelona has been in the lead for the player for a few weeks now, even though Liverpool is also very interested.

Barça are said to want to start talks as soon as the January window opens, possibly because Gavi’s season was cut short by a knee injury.

Since joining the club, Oriol Romeu has had a rough patch, so Xavi might want to add more players to his center, which already includes Pedri, Ilkay Gundogan, and Frenkie de Jong.

The story says that Liverpool is the most likely English club to make a serious move for the Belgian because they don’t have many midfielders right now.

Vermeeren is said to be worth €20m (£17.25m), which Liverpool thinks is a fair price for the player since they want to sign young players who can develop over time.

Arsenal, the leaders of the Premier League, is also said to be interested in the teenager, even though they paid a lot of money to add Declan Rice to their middle in the summer.

Man United is also said to be in the running, even though they spent a lot of money on Casemiro, Mason Mount, and Sofyan Amrabat on a fixed deal, which could cost even more.

Erik ten Hag has had to change his United center a lot this season because of injuries and a lack of form. More players could be coming in to help with that.

Antwerp will probably try to keep the player until at least after Euro 2024. If the young player has a big event, it will make him a lot more valuable as a transfer target.

The player is thought to have the final say, as long as his trade value is met. However, it is still not clear if the club would be willing to sell in January.