Liverpool fall behind Juventus in race for Uruguayan sensation

Liverpool have fallen behind Juventus in the race to sign Uruguayan sensation Gaston Ramirez.

Ramirez, 21, has been heavily linked with Manchester City and Liverpool in recent months after an outstanding season at Serie A side Bologna.

The Uruguay international is expected to leave Bologna this summer following club president Albano Guaraldi's assertion earlier this week that the midfielder is available for a fee of £16m.

Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport claim that representatives from Juventus and AC Milan have engaged in preliminary talks over Ramirez, with Napoli also interested in the playmaker.

Liverpool are widely expected to step up their interest in Ramirez after seeing Tottenham steal a march on them in the pursuit of Icelandic midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson.