Manchester City are set to rival Barcelona for Ajax starlets Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt, claims Goal.com.
Pep Guardiola will target a new central midfielder in January after missing out on Jorginho and Fred in the summer to Chelsea and Manchester United, respectively.
Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves is another option for City but they have been given renewed hope in pursuit of De Jong, who they previously thought was on his way to Barcelona.
Barcelona have been the frontrunners for the 21-year-old since the end of last season but failed to get a deal over the line for the Netherlands international in the summer.
However, the Spanish giants are now under the impression that City have stolen a march in the race to sign the midfielder following talks between Ajax and City sporting director Txiki Begiristain.
Barcelona even feel there is a chance City will wrap up a January deal and loan De Jong back to Ajax for the remainder of the season.
Both clubs also share a mutual interest in Ajax centre-back De Ligt, who has previously been linked with Tottenham.
The 19-year-old has been earmarked as the next Gerard Pique by Barcelona and they are determined to sign the teenager, even more so if they miss out on De Jong.
De Jong has the best pass accuracy in the Eredivisie this season (92.9%), while De Ligt ranks fifth (91.5%).
