Man Utd and Liverpool in battle for Preston wonderkid Felipe Rodriguez-Gentile after he bagged FIVE goals in a game

LIVERPOOL and Manchester United are in a transfer battle for Preston wonderkid Felipe Rodriguez-Gentile, according to reports.

Rodriguez-Gentile, 16, caught the eye during Preston‘s thumping 6-1 win over Rotherham United in the FA Youth Cup.

The highly-rated striker, who only joined Preston last October, scored five of the Lilywhites’ goals.

And according to the Mirror, the Argentinian forward, who has dual nationality after being born in Brazil and also holds a Spanish passport, is attracting interest from England’s elite.

Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City are all keen on Rodriguez-Gentile.

Tottenham and newly mega-rich Newcastle have also been impressed by the forward.

Rodriguez-Gentile has already agreed to a two-year scholarship at Deepdale which will begin in the summer.

He has notched 18 goals in his last 10 games – including four separate hat-tricks.

And Preston are in a strong position for keeping hold of the ace.

Preston have given four academy prospects their professional debuts this term.

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Boss Ryan Lowe has also hinted that the club already have plans to integrate Rodriguez-Gentile into the first-team in the future.

Speaking after Rodriguez-Gentile’s five-goal haul against Rotherham, Lowe told Lancs Live: “He is a good little player, isn’t he?

“He’s got some good attributes, but again, he is 16 and we’ve got to be careful.

“People probably want to get him in the squad; he will come up and train with us in some capacity very soon – when he’s off school! It’s mad, isn’t it?

“But he is a fantastic talent and one we have to keep tabs on, which we are, of course.

“We get reports on all of the kids when they’re performing.

“Again, we can’t get too carried away with him and we’ve got to play him down a bit, but he looks like an exciting prospect for us.”;