Liverpool keep Awoniyi from Tottenham, City, Barcelona

Liverpool have fought off huge interest to tie youngster Taiwo Awoniyi down to a new deal, according to reports.

TEAMtalk reckon Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City and Barcelona were all tracking the 20-year-old forward.

The highly-rated kid is set to sign a five-year contract at Anfield and join Monaco on a two-year loan deal to further his development.

Taiwo moved to Merseyside two years ago after being spotted in a Coca-Cola sponsored football tournament in London.

The attacker has been capped six times at Under-23 level for Nigeria and was on loan at Mouscron in Belgium scoring 10 goals with seven assists last season.

Taiwo, who signed for Liverpool in 2015 from ex-Wolves midfielder Seyi Olofinjana’s Imperial Soccer Academy for £400,000, has had work permit issues stalling his Anfield career.

He told the Liverpool Echo in March: “For me, my main concern is to keep working hard for Mouscron.

“It’s about scoring as much as I can, assisting goals.

“With the national team, the administrators and the coaches know the quality we have, and they know about me.

“There are a lot of Nigerian players in Belgium for them to watch, and hopefully I can catch their eye.”