Arsenal and Liverpool are likely to face a summer battle in their pursuit of Barcelona youngster Cristian Tello. The Express reports the Premier League rivals have been impressed with the Catalan youngster's return of seven goals in only nine La Liga starts.

Cristian Tello
Reuters

Tello is believed to have an £8.5m release clause in his contract. If true, it represents an absolute bargain... and Barcelona are understandably worried about summer approaches. The release fee could have been driven to £12m but Tello has not played enough games for the Spanish league leaders for the condition to come into effect.

The 21-year-old Spanish faces considerable competition for a first team place at the Nou Camp, with compatriot Pedro and Argentine star Lionel Messi leading the way for two of the three attacking positions. Behind them come Chile international Alexis Sanchez and World Cup-winning Spain striker David Villa.

However, the good news for Tello is that both Sanchez and Villa have been linked with moves away from Spain in the summer, meaning that if he does stay on at the Nou Camp, he might well move up the pecking order.

Tello appears happy to remain with Barcelona for now; he started the league game against Real Zaragoza last weekend and scored twice. However, he admits he is not a sure starter for Barcelona's midweek game against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

"I am enjoying having the confidence of the coach and things are going well for me. But mostly I'm just happy to have been able to help the team. The Champions League is a spectacular competition, but my role is very clear. I will always work to try to make the most of the opportunities I am given," Goal.com quoted Tello as saying.

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