Arsenal and Liverpool are both closely monitoring Bruno Fernandes of Sporting CP, as they prepare to battle it out for his signature this summer, according to reports.

Earlier this week we reported that Arsenal sent scouts to watch Sporting travel to Belenenses. We speculated that Fernandes could be the target of their interest, but at the time there weren’t any reports to confirm which player Sven Mislintat’s team were after.

It seems our hunch was right, as A Bola (via Thursday’s Sport360) claims Arsenal are one of two teams interested in the player. The other is Liverpool, and Jurgen Klopp is reportedly preparing to put a formal bid in.

Fernandes’ release clause is reportedly £87m, which would be a record transfer fee for either club. It’s therefore unlikely he’ll leave without a bit of negotiation.

He certainly will have impressed the scouts at the weekend though. The 23-year-old was arguably man-of-the-match as he scored once and assisted twice in the 4-3 win.

With 14 goals and 20 assists in 51 appearances, the attacking midfielder is having a great season.

Arsenal may need a player like him, if Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere don’t end up signing new deals to remain at the club. We’ll have to wait and see what happens.