De Paul deal boosts Liverpool, Barcelona pursuit Atletico Madrid attacker Saul

Liverpool have been encouraged in their pursuit of Atletico Madrid attacker Saul Niguez.

Atletico Madrid have wrapped up the £30m signing of Rodrigo De Paul from Udinese - which could now pave the way for Saul to join Liverpool.

The Daily Mail says Saul has fallen down the pecking order while reports coming out of Madrid last week claimed the club are willing to listen to offers as little as €40million (£35m) for him.

Liverpool are reportedly leading the chase for Saul, with Jurgen Klopp on the lookout for a new midfielder following Georginio Wijnaldum's exit.

Barcelona, however, are also a possible landing spot for Saul with a sensational swap deal with Antoine Griezmann said to be on the cards.

Ronald Koeman needs to reduce the wage bill at Barcelona and could save a significant amount of money by offloading Griezmann and his mammoth salary, with any deal for Saul expected to be a lot less.