Fiorentina star plays final game before Man Utd or Liverpool transfer

Stuart Telford

• 8 Jun 2023 09:22 BST
• 3 min read

Sofyan Amrabat looks to have played his final game for Fiorentina following the Serie A side's defeat to West Ham in the Europa Conference League final, with Manchester United and Liverpool hovering.

Amrabat has been in high demand since helping Morocco become the first African team ever to make it through to the World Cup semi-finals in Qatar in December, with Barcelona initially joining Premier League clubs in making their interest clear.

Barca saw Amrabat as a potential replacement for Sergio Busquets with the Blaugrana legend set to leave the club, and the Netherlands-born player was spotted at Camp Nou in January taking in the 1-0 win over Getafe 'as a fan'.

READ: Liverpool transfer target Amrabat spotted at Barcelona's Camp Nou

But Barca's financial travails are well documented - indeed, club legend Lionel Messi recently baulked at a return, signing for Inter Miami instead - and it appears that Amrabat is now ready to take his next career step in England.

Amrabat: England suits my style

"Of course, the Premier League's a fantastic league, one of the strongest in the world," he admitted ahead of the Conference League final, that Fiorentina lost 2-1. "It'd be nice to play there one day, but it's not that I want only to go to England, because Spain's nice, Serie A's a nice league…

"Football's changed a lot, it's more physical, you have to be more of an athlete, the tempo and intensity is higher. Of course, in England the intensity is very high, so I think it could suit me."

READ: The five players Barcelona could sign to replace Busquets

Those quotes will be music to the ears of Manchester United and Liverpool, both of whom plan to bolster their midfields this summer.

United tried to loan Amrabat with an option to buy in January, but Fiorentina rejected such a deal for their player valued at €20 million by FootballTransfers' in-house algorithm, while Liverpool also have a long-held interest.

The Reds recently signed Alexis Mac Allister in a €35m deal from Brighton, but with James Milner, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all leaving the club on free transfers this summer, the need for further reinforcements at Anfield is obvious.