Liverpool to battle Man United and Tottenham for Brentford star
Collins was handed the captain’s armband earlier this month
Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham are all weighing up moves for Brentford captain Nathan Collins.
According to Daily Mail Sport, interest in the 24-year-old centre-back is growing, though the Bees are expected to resist any attempts to prise him away.
Collins, who was handed the captain’s armband earlier this month, marked the occasion by scoring the only goal in a pre-season friendly win over QPR.
New manager and compatriot Keith Andrews hailed the former Stoke City and Burnley defender as “a natural leader.”
With Brentford having already lost two key players this summer, the club are under no financial pressure to sell a player who cost a club-record £23m from Wolves in 2023 and is tied down to a six-year deal.
United and Spurs have now joined Liverpool in monitoring Collins, who has replaced the departed Christian Nørgaard as skipper.
United are in the market for defensive reinforcements and have already signed Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford in a £65m deal.
However, further arrivals at Old Trafford are likely to depend on departures from the current squad.
Spurs are also searching for defensive options, though new boss Thomas Frank – who joined from Brentford this summer – may hesitate to move for his former player out of respect for his old club.
Liverpool’s need for defensive depth was highlighted in their opening-day 4-2 win over Bournemouth at Anfield, where defensive lapses were on show despite the victory.
Collins, who became Stoke’s youngest-ever captain at just 18, has earned 30 caps for the Republic of Ireland.
He started in Brentford’s Premier League opener against Nottingham Forest on Sunday and is seen as a cornerstone of Andrews’ plans for the campaign.
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