Liverpool are confident of beating Chelsea and Manchester United to the signature of John Cofie, a 15-year-old centre forward whose progress at Burnley has made him one of the most coveted young talents in the country.

Despite strong overtures from Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford, Cofie is understood to favour a move to Liverpool and accepted an invitation from the club to attend their Carling Cup fourth-round victory over Cardiff City at Anfield last week. Burnley hope to receive at least £1 million in compensation if the teenager leaves, but Liverpool believe they may secure his services for barely a quarter of that sum.

Although Liverpool have won the FA Youth Cup for the past two seasons with a squad made up largely of players brought through their own academy, Rafael BenÍtez, the manager, has overseen the acquisition of more than 20 teenagers over the past 2½ years, the vast majority of them from overseas.

BenÍtez and Piet Hamberg, the technical manager at the club’s youth academy, are lining up deals to sign at least four other teenagers in January in addition to Cofie. One is Lauri Dalla Valle, a 16-year-old Finnish midfield player, while Hamberg is also believed to be closing in on two highly-rated youngsters from the Netherlands and one from Germany.