Liverpool have stepped up their chase to sign coveted Ghanaian defensive midfielder Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu from Udinese, fresh reports from Sky Italia indicate.

News of the move for the 23-year-old initially emerged last month after scouts of the English club identified he could offer some much needed cover for their backline and recommended him to manager Brendan Rogers. According to Sky, the English Premiership side have already contacted Udinese for the midfielder with negotiations on-going.

Monitored reports indicate that fellow Italian club Chievo Verona recently contacted Udinese about him but they were told Liverpool is pursuing him.

Badu himself has spoken of his desire to join the Reds in the English Premier League should they seal an agreement with his club Udinese. The 2009 U-20 World Cup winner has previously been scouted by Arsenal and Tottenham and is currently valued at around £7m.