Liverpool look poised to sign Sporting Lisbon midfielder Bruno Fernandes after Manchester United’s decision to pull out of a deal.

That’s according to Paddy Power’s transfer betting odds, with the Portugal international having his price on a move to Liverpool repeatedly cut on Tuesday.

As reported by The Telegraph, United are not willing to meet Sporting’s £70million ($89m) valuation of the 24-year-old, holding out instead for a £45m ($57m) deal.

That has seen Liverpool jump the queue and they moved in to favorites on Tuesday morning, before quickly going odds-on to sign Fernandes this summer at 1/3 (-300).

Since then, the likelihood of Liverpool completing the deal this summer has seemingly increased, with Paddy Power now trading at a nailed-on price of 1/9 (-900), odds which carry an implied probability of 90%.

Previous favourites Manchester United, meanwhile, have drifted out to 3/1 (+300) while Tottenham – who are also rumoured to have made an approach for Fernandes, are almost out of contention at 33/1 (+3300).

Sporting To Stand Firm

Sporting are in a strong position for negotiations as Fernandes is currently tied to a four-year contract, with the Portuguese side likely to stand their ground in their transfer valuation of him.

Meanwhile, Liverpool’s odds to sign Matthijs de Ligt have drifted way out to 25/1 (+2500), with Juventus the current market leaders, but the Reds remain in the hunt for a new centre-half.

The BBC claims Jurgen Klopp is interested in De Ligt’s compatriot Sepp van den Berg, a 17-year-old who is also attracting interest from Ajax, PSV Sampdoria and Bayern Munich.

The PEC Zwolle defender made just 15 appearances in the Dutch Eredivisie last season, but appears to have shown enough promise to court interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

The BBC report: “The Anfield club see Van den Berg as a player for the long term and, although there is a belief he could be with the first team from day one, the focus initially would be on his development and integration.”

Meanwhile, with the new Premier League season edging closer, Liverpool are 9/4 (+225) to go one better than last term by winning the title, while they’re 8/1 (+800) to defend the Champions League.