Liverpool to complete signing of Barcelona starlet Bobby Adekanye

Liverpool are closing in on completing a deal for Barcelona wonderkid Bobby Adekanye, according to the Liverpool Echo.

The 16-year-old was born in Nigeria and was brought up in Holland after his parents move to Amsterdam. Barcelona have been handed a transfer ban by Fifa over the illegal recruitment of youngsters to their famous academy La Masia.

The Catalan club signed Adekanye from Ajax in 2011 and his move to Spain was ruled as illegal by the governing body. The winger was then banned from representing the La Liga giants, which forced the starlet to join PSV Eindhoven on-loan.

The Dutch outfit are keen on signing him and want to secure his services on a permanent transfer. In addition to this, their league rivals Ajax were also in the race to seal the deal for the winger.

The treble winners wanted the player to continue in Holland until their dispute with Fifa is resolved. The situation at Barcelona has forced the highly rated youngster to consider his future.

Adekanye has attracted interest from Liverpool and the Reds are set to beat interest from Dutch clubs in sealing the deal for the talented winger. He is set to have his medical and will join the Premier League club's academy.

The Spanish publication Sport claims Barcelona will not ask for compensation from Liverpool as they want to thank him for his services for the past few years. The Champions League winners' transfer ban will be lifted at the start of the next year and Adekanye has decided not to wait until then.

Meanwhile, the player's father Ademola Adekanye earlier admitted that the winger has decided to play for Holland rather than his country of birth, Nigeria.

"Bobby is going with the Dutch under 16 team to Portugal. They are scheduled to play three games, against Spain, Portugal and Deutschland,'' Ademola Adekanye told SL10.ng.

''The door is not finally shut on Nigeria, nobody knows tomorrow if he will decide to play for Nigeria. The truth is that the Nigeria Federation never invited him, but Holland did and he needs to respect them," he said.