Sources: Deal to sign attacking midfielder close to completion; only minor details remain

Liverpool are close to completing a deal to sign Fatawu Issahaku from Steadfast FC for approximately £1.5million whereafter he will join Sporting Lisbon on loan.

Sources close to Anfield Central are confident that a deal to sign the 17-year-old will only be jeopardised by a drastic change of events.

Manchester United tried to hijack the deal but the player is drawn to Liverpool and is also happy to go on loan in order to become eligible for a UK work permit in line with new rules.

A year with the Portuguese club should be enough but we understand that the loan move to Lisbon has an unspecified length that will allow the player to remain with the Portuguese club until he qualifies for a work permit.

There are only minor details left to confirm although Liverpool are unlikely to make the deal publicly known until he is eligible to represent the Reds.

His agents are still an issue for Liverpool and as we reported on Thursday, they have told him that he will not move to Merseyside until he has changed his representation which gives him at least a year to do so.

FIFA has warned clubs about his agents which saw both Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen walk away from the chance to sign arguably Africa’s most promising talent.

Manchester United attempted to poach a move for the 17-year-old but Liverpool have moved swiftly to agree a loan deal to Sporting which, as Anfield Central has been told, has an unspecified length that will allow the player to remain with the Portuguese club until he qualifies for a work permit.

Fatawu Issahaku is one of the most exciting teenagers in the world and was named Player of the Tournament at the 2021 U20 Africa Cup of Nations following his dazzling displays as he represented Ghana.