Ashley Barnes would be worthy of a three-year contract at Liverpool if he inspired Burnley to a result against Manchester City on Sunday.

That is the light-hearted view of former Republic of Ireland forward Jon Walters, who has playfully weighed into the tense Premier League title battle.

Liverpool are back ahead of City after beating Huddersfield Town 5-0 on Friday, but Jurgen Klopp's men only lead by two points and have played a game more than the reigning champions.

Pep Guardiola's side will regain top spot if they win at Turf Moor later this weekend and know victories in that encounter and their remaining matches against Leicester City and Brighton and Hove Albion will make them the first back-to-back champions in England's top flight for a decade.

Former Stoke City favourite Walters is a boyhood Everton fan, meaning plenty can be assumed about where he would like the Premier League trophy to end up.

He tweeted a picture of himself and Barnes that was captioned: "Only one man can save @LFC now! Is it worth a three-year contract if he scores the winner tomorrow, Jurgen? #LFC"

Only one man can save @LFC now! Is it worth a 3 year contract if he scores the winner tomorrow Jürgen? #LFC pic.twitter.com/Lm8cCb0E7S
— Jonathan Walters (@JonWalters19) April 27, 2019

Walters' post also included a depiction of his fanciful best-case scenario – Klopp presenting a smiling Barnes as a Liverpool player.

It is safe to say the 35-year-old's Photoshopping skills do not match the footballing talents that saw him represent Ireland 54 times.

Barnes scored his 11th Premier League goal of the season in Burnley's 2-2 draw at Chelsea on Monday.