Louis van Gaal and Brendan Rodgers are rivals in the £4million chase for new Dutch whizkid Daley Sinkgraven.

Champions League winners Real Madrid, fellow La Liga giants Barcelona, Bundesliga champs Bayern Munich and Eredivisie heavyweights Ajax are also tracking the Holland under-21 international midfielder.

But Manchester United boss Van Gaal and Liverpool chief Rodgers are firmly in the race to snare Sinkgraven, either in the January transfer window or next summer.

Heerenveen know they have no chance of hanging on to the talented 19-year-old long-term, but are determined to keep him for the rest of this season if they are still in with a chance of snatching a European place come the turn of the year.

Van Gaal and Rodgers both see Sinkgraven, who has three years left on contract at the Abe Lenstra Stadion, as one for the future.

But the two bitter Premier League rivals plan an early swoop because they don't want to miss out on a youngster who looks a sure-fire superstar in the making.

Van Gaal wants to bolster his Red Devils' midfield because Michael Carrick and Darren Fletcher are fast approaching the veteran stage, and there are question marks hovering over the Old Trafford futures of Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini.

Rodgers is eyeing up Sinkgraven as the prospective long-term successor to the Anfield giants' skipper Steven Gerrard.

Sinkgraven has made stunning progress at Heerenveen since exploding into what was his breakthrough season last time around.

After racking up 17 appearances last term, he has been an ever-present this campaign as they push for a Europa League spot.

He has notched two goals in nine league and cup outings for the Dutch outfit, including a shock winner against league leaders PSV Eindhoven nine days ago.

Source: Mirror Online