La Liga giants Barcelona hope to beat a Premier League club to a top manager.

The Spanish champions have stepped up their pursuit of Sporting Lisbon boss Ruben Amorim.

Per The Independent, Barca do not want to miss out on Amorim amid links to Liverpool.

They are hoping that he will be convinced to succeed Xavi Hernandez in the summer.

A separate Athletic report indicated that Barca wanted Xavi to stay on for another season.

The former midfielder chose to resign at the end of this term due to pressure from the media.