Manchester united and Liverpool chase cruzeiro midfielder Everton Ribeiro

Barclays Premier League clubs Manchester United and Liverpool are tracking Cruzeiro attacking-midfielder Everton Ribeiro.

According to Brazilian newspaper Lancenet, the English clubs sent their representatives to watch Ribeiro in action in Brazil, and will weigh up a formal offer for the 24-year-old Brazilian.

Both United and Liverpool are looking to secure a guarantee of a work permit for Ribeiro in England.

Cruzeiro would be willing to start negotiations from 8 million, and have previously rejected a 10 million offer for the player from Al Jaish.

The versatile forward only wants to leave Cruzeiro for a big European club, according to his agent Robson Ferreira.

The player's agent revealed: "Everton Ribeiro doesn't want to move to a club in Eastern Europe or Qatar. We are going to avoid intermediary markets. We have a career plan for him. If Cruzeiro accept to sell him, it will be better for him to play for a big European team."

However, as is the case with mose South American players, Ribeiro's contract is owned by a number of parties. Cruzeiro, his club, own 60% of the economic rights of the player, while the other 40% is divided between Ribeiro's former club Corinthians and entrepreneurs.

Ribeiro came through the youth ranks of Corinthians, before moving to Sao Caetano and Coritiba. He joined Cruzeiro in January 2013, and has helped the club win the Brazilian Serie A in his first season.