Liverpool have made an £8m offer for the Uruguay international Sebastián Coates but face competition for his signature as Nacional encourage an auction for the 20-year-old defender.
Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool's owner, has met the Uruguay champions' current valuation of their 6ft 6in centre-half as they look to provide the manager, Kenny Dalglish, with his sixth summer signing.
Nacional this week granted permission to Coates's father, Peter, and agent, Matias Pittini, to discuss the terms of the transfer with Liverpool, who remain firm favourites to sign a player whose profile soared during Uruguay's triumphant Copa América campaign last month. "The offer is very good," Héctor Olmos, Nacional's vice-president, told a radio station on Tuesday. "Coates will surely go to Liverpool."
Nacional, however, are aware of interest from several Premier League teams, including Manchester City and Arsenal, as well as from clubs in Italy, Ukraine and throughout South America, and are attempting to hold out for the highest bidder.
Coates was valued at €3.5m (£3.06m) when talks were held over a proposed move to Porto before the Copa América and Nacional hope City will top Liverpool's bid in the coming days.
Roberto Mancini, the City manager, has claimed he wants one more signing to follow the impending arrival of Samir Nasri at the Etihad Stadium but club officials have indicated the France international will represent their final purchase in this window and the club has already acquired a central defender this summer in Stefan Savic.
Coates, who is in Montevideo and believed to be receptive to a move to the Premier League, said: "This week I will talk about offers and decide whether to go or stay here. What I need is continuity so I don't lose my place in the national team. The Premier League?
"Do not discard any hypothesis. But the president knows what my family and I want. The market is open until 31 August and I won't stop waiting. Certain leagues have already commenced and to go and play at a club that has already started could be a disadvantage."
Dalglish, meanwhile, has admitted last season's embarrassing Carling Cup exit at home to Northampton Town will influence Liverpool's approach to their second-round tie at Exeter City on Wednesday, although there will be several changes to the side that beat Arsenal on Saturday and there could be a debut for the 16-year-old winger Raheem Sterling.
"We had a bad result last year against Northampton at home and we'll do our best to avoid another bad result," said the Liverpool manager, who also hopes to sign Craig Bellamy providing City release the Wales forward on a free.
"We want to do the very best we can in this competition and, although there will be some changes in the personnel we put out, the attitude should be exactly the same as it was on Saturday at the Emirates. We will give people an opportunity to play. The training has been superb, as has their attitude and commitment, so they deserve a game."
Liverpool have not played in the second round of the Carling Cup since 1999 and, with no European engagements this season, Jamie Carragher admits the competition has assumed added importance at Anfield.
Carragher said: "Exeter is a massive game for us. We haven't been in the Carling Cup at this stage for a long time. There's no Europe this season so everybody at the club is determined to do as well as we can in the domestic cups."