Wrexham and Birmingham are set to battle it out for young Liverpool forward Lewis Koumas’ signature.
The 19-year-old is drawing interest from a number of sides, with the two Championship sides leading his list of suitors.
Koumas has become a hot property after an impressive stint in the second tier on loan at Stoke last season.
Sheffield United are also keen on the Wales international, while Norwich, Preston and Hull are also keeping tabs on him.
However, Birmingham and Wrexham are currently leading the chase for Koumas, with both clubs boasting high-profile owners.
The Welsh outfit are owned by Hollywood stars Rob Elhenney and Ryan Reynolds, while NFL great Tom Brady is a minority stakeholder at St Andrews.
Why could Lewis Koumas leave Liverpool?
Both clubs are reportedly prepared to offer Koumas a permanent deal, who signed a new long-term contract at Anfield last year.
However, he is expected to leave before the transfer deadline on September 1, having sat out the Reds‘ under-21s loss against Leicester on Monday in the Premier League 2.
Liverpool regard Koumas as being further ahead in his development at this stage in his career than other former young players.
Bobby Clarke was permitted to join Red Bull Salzburg for £10million last year, having made 14 senior appearances on Merseyside.
Koumas has seen his first-team opportunities limited in pre-season following the emergence of promising 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha.
He was restricted to a second-half appearance at Preston and a brief cameo in their first friendly fixture against Athletic Bilbao.
Should he depart, the attacker would follow other young academy graduates in exiting the club this season.
Ben Doak joined Bournemouth in a £25m deal on Monday, while Jarell Quansah made the move to the Bundesliga, signing for Bayer Leverkusen for an initial £30m in July.
The Chester-born player has already made an impression in his fledgling career.
He scored on his senior Liverpool debut in a 3-0 FA Cup win over Stoke last February, while he was on the bench for their Carabao Cup final win against Chelsea in the same season.
Koumas has been capped six times by Wales at senior level, making his debut in a 0-0 draw with Gibraltar in June 2024.
His first taste of regular first-team football came in his season-long loan at Stoke last season.
Altogether he made 49 appearances, scoring a total of six goals, while 43 of these games came in the league, where he netted three times.
Should Koumas return to the Championship, he would look to continue his family legacy in the league.
He is the son of former player Jason Koumas, who previously made 233 appearances in English football’s second tier. Meanwhile, he made 96 appearances in the Premier League altogether.
Koumas Sr made his mark in the division with Tranmere, West Brom and Cardiff.
He helped win promotion to the Premier League in 2004, scoring ten goals in 42 appearances to help them finish second in the league, and also later enjoyed a separate top-flight spell at Wigan between 2007 and 2010.