Liverpool Line Up £40m Swoop for Barca Star

Barcelona striker David Villa has once again been linked with a move to Liverpool after finding first-team opportunities limited at the Nou Camp.

The Reds first tried to sign Villa, 29, in the summer of 2010 but the Spain international turned down a move to Merseyside in favour of joining the European champions.

However, the forward has started just seven of the Catalan's 13 league games this season and reports in Spain suggest he could look elsewhere at the end of the current campaign, with Liverpool prominently linked with a move for the player.

Last week, Sky Sports pundit Guillem Balague told Revista that Villa's time at Barcelona could be coming to an end.

"[He] has four goals in the league this season, he had eight at this stage last season," said Balague. "He is as efficient but he is playing less minutes.

"There are clubs in England that think it has never been easier to get David Villa out of Barcelona. Not only because of the fact that he is not playing, but because he is happy to go.

"At this point, he feels that [Pep] Guardiola has decided that Lionel Messi is the man. Pep thinks that without football Messi is naked and says privately that while he's manager Messi will always have football."

The news is likely to have alerted Liverpool, who could be tempted to test Guardiola's resolve with a bid in the region of £40m.

However, Villa is only likely to move to a club in the Champions League and any signing is dependent on Liverpool securing a top four spot this season.