Liverpool and Tottenham are chasing the signature of West Brom contract rebel Rekeem Harper but are currently behind Juventus in the race.
According to The Mirror, Rekeem Harper has no plans to extend his expiring contract at West Bromwich Albion. The midfielder is being circled by the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham and Juventus, with the Serie A champions currently leading the race to nab the youngster away from England, who will cost the clubs less than a million pounds in compensation.
West Brom came close to earning a promotion to the Premier League in the 2018-19 season after a good run of results in the second half of their Championship campaign. Slaven Bilic has now been appointed with the aim of achieving what they failed to in the 2018-19 campaign and the manager is keen to retain Rekeem Harper for the promotion push.
Rekeem Harper is a prodigious young midfielder who broke onto the scene in the 2018-19 Championship campaign at West Brom. The 19-year-old finished with 23 senior appearances in all competitions to his name, with the midfielder becoming a regular in the playing eleven in the second half of the season.
Celtic join the race for Rekeem Harper. Compensation fee would be £235k. Albion’s final contract offer still on the table #wba https://t.co/WABLXwJ1aw
— Matt Wilson (@mattwilson_star) May 21, 2019
While his return might not be tenable, the talent is there for all to see. A modern day midfielder that wants to avoid tackles and uses short but effective passes to get the ball forward, Harper also has brilliant control on the ball and even has a good shot in his locker. It is no surprise that the likes of Tottenham, Liverpool and Juventus are chasing the 19-year-old.
Tottenham are in real need of reinforcements in central midfield. There is still no replacement that has been brought in for Mousa Dembele, who departed months ago. Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko have stepped up well but the Spurs squad is still short of options beyond the two in midfield, especially with Victor Wanyama and Eric Dier not really managing to impress a whole lot in the 2018-19 season.
Liverpool are stacked in almost every position. But, there could be a case made for midfield. Jurgen Klopp has five good options in Naby Keita, Fabinho, Georginio Wijnaldum, Jordan Henderson and James Milner. But, the squad might need to phase out Milner while adding another midfielder could offer a more able rotation setup for the club.
In the current scenario though, it is Juventus that is being touted to be the next destination for Rekeem Harper. Again, Juventus already have an enviable midfield roster. But, the Bianconeri are continuing to be linked with Adrien Rabiot and Paul Pogba.
Juventus have seen young English stars flourish if given the right opportunities, with Jadon Sancho the latest example. And, they have had a similar case in the past with Paul Pogba, who came in from Manchester United on a free transfer before becoming one of the best midfielders in the world.
It seems the West Brom academy is being raided by the top European clubs, with youngster Louie Barry reported to be on the radar of Barcelona. Rekeem Harper though, looks pencilled in for an exit and it will be interesting to see if he opts for an immediate promotion to the Premier League with Liverpool or Tottenham or ends up moving to Italy to join Juventus.
