Liverpool and Man United both eager for Barcelona spoiler

If as expected Liverpool go on to lose the Premier League title race, one position they will regret not strengthening is the defensive midfield area, where Lucas Leiva is the only purely defence-minded option.

Even so, the Brazilian has once again been affected by injuries during the campaign and despite Steven Gerrard dropping deep, the Reds skipper lacks the defence discipline to disrupt the opposition play regularly enough.

Too many goals have been leaked by Liverpool, which is the reason they are now 16/1 for the title when they were favourites only a few weeks back, with their Crystal Palace capitulation the best example of their dire need for an out-and-out midfield spoiler to stem the flow.

Step forward Barcelona’s Alex Song. The former Arsenal man made a name for himself in the Premier League by doing all his side’s less glamorous work in the Gunners engine room before Barca paid £16m for his services two years ago.

However, Song has failed to make his presence felt at the Camp Nou and with Barca willing to cut their losses and sell him for around £8m, Liverpool and Manchester United are both on high alert.

Speaking in March Song dropped a huge hint of his intentions. He said: “If I leave Barcelona it will be to return to the Premier League.”

Song’s desire to return to England is also great news for Manchester United.

The Red Devils are in the market for exactly that kind of player, where similarly to Liverpool they have more of a passing defensive midfielder in Michael Carrick rather than a real tackling force.

Many believed Marouane Fellaini was the answer in that department, but as his Belgian national coach Marc Wilmots has recently pointed out, the lanky midfielder is best utilised further forward.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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