Liverpool have “significantly raised” their wage proposal in an attempt to persuade Celta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga into making the switch to Anfield, according to Sport.

The Catalan publication claims that the Reds now have an “advantage” over the competition in the race to secure the Spanish Under 21 international’s signature.

Newcastle, Chelsea and Real Madrid are also believed to be interested in signing Veiga, who is expected to leave Celta Vigo this summer.

The 21-year-old has a €40m (£34m) release clause, and it is thought that Liverpool and Newcastle are the two teams currently prepared to trigger it.

After spending over €100m on Jude Bellingham, Real are less inclined to pay the buyout fee and the La Liga club are likely to offer players in a potential swap deal.

Chelsea, meanwhile, have not made Veiga a priority and will only make an offer if they fail to land other targets.

Veiga has had a swift rise to prominence

This time last year, not many had heard about the playmaker. He had just spent most of the 2021/22 season with Celta’s B side, having made only a handful of appearances for the first team.

Things have been very different for Veiga this campaign. though, After breaking into the starting lineup in October, he went on to score 11 goals in 36 league matches.

Veiga’s last day heroics

Although Celta weren’t one of the favourites to go down on the final day, a defeat could still have seen them relegated from the top flight. As they were going up against champions Barcelona, things didn’t look too promising.

However, Veiga stood up to the plate, with the midfielder scoring goals in both halves to secure a 2-1 win. He certainly has an eye for goal, and that has clearly caught the attention of Liverpool scouts. We shall see if he ends up moving to Merseyside.