Keisuke Honda
Honda is a long standing target for Liverpool. REUTERS

Paris Saint Germain have emerged as the frontrunners in the race to sign reputed Liverpool target Keisuke Honda, who continues to impress at CSKA Moscow.

Honda has been the subject of a great deal of transfer speculation over the past few windows, but CSKA have fought had to keep hold of the starlet, and have slapped a €13m price tag on his services, despite him being unproven in any of Europe's top leagues.

Liverpool have been watching the Japan international for some time now, and while Honda's agent told the IBTimes that a move to Merseyside in January is unlikely, a summer deal is still on the cards as the Reds look to bring in younger players with long-term success in mind.

Arsenal and Manchester United have also been connected to Honda, but Liverpool were believed to be front runners, with the attacking midfielder having scored 13 goals in 47 appearances for CSKA so far.

And now big-spending PSG are also interested, and are said to be preparing a bid in the hopes of stealing the march on Liverpool and moving one step closer to challenging the top European teams for trophies.

Former Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has just taken over the managerial post with the French side, and is looking for midfielders to boost the squad. Numerous sources are claiming that he believes that Honda is perfect for a position on the newly ambitious club, with both ESPN and Japanese paper Sports Nippon reporting that there has been contact over an agreement.

Liverpool have admitted that they will purchase players this January if they believe they would make a good fit for the club, and Honda's goalscoring ability could serve as an advantage as Dalglish looks to build on his firepower.

"We have the option to add if we want to, but we also have another option that we don't have to," Dalglish said in December, hinting that there are players on the club's radar in preparation for the transfer window.

"We don't speculate on anybody - either our own players or somebody else's players."

But with PSG involved, Liverpool could be driven out of the competition for Honda, with the Ligue 1 side desperate to go from being a top club in both France and Europe.