Coates on Brink of Anfield Move

Liverpool expect to complete an £8million deal for Uruguayan defender Sebastian Coates by the end of the week and see off late interest from Arsenal. Coates, 20, was voted Young Player of the Tournament at the recent Copa America and has a towering reputation to match his 6ft 5ins height. Liverpool made a formal written bid to Nacional on Monday. Talks are still on-going but Nacional vice president Hector Olmes said: 'The offer (from Liverpool) is very good. Coates will surely go to Liverpool.' Liverpool will look to push through deals to offload Joe Cole, Alberto Aquilani, Christian Poulsen and David Ngog after they were left out of the squad to face Exeter on Wednesday.

Manchester City move for Sebastián Coates

Manchester City are chasing highly rated Uruguay international Sebastián Coates.Coates has been linked with several clubs in South America and Europe following an impressive season at the heart of the defence of Nacional, the Montevideo club that recently won the Uruguayan championship, and his promotion to the national team at the Copa América.Scouts from several Premier League clubs have monitored the 20-year-old in recent months, and City are now understood to have made an approach during the Copa América, where Coates won his third senior cap in the final group game against Mexico. However, they face competition from a rival Premier League club – Arsenal had the 6ft 6in defender watched a dozen times last season and are in the market for central defenders, as are Liverpool – and growing interest in Coates has seen Nacional raise their asking price towards £20m.The Uruguay defender missed out on a place in Oscar Washington Tabárez's World Cup squad in South Africa last summer and his inexperience at senior international level could present problems obtaining a work permit, although he does have Spanish and British ancestry.