According to one report from Spain, Liverpool could do one club a ‘favour’ by going back in for a player Jurgen Klopp had wanted to sign last year.
El Nacional have claimed that Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni is among the Reds’ transfer priorities for this summer, 12 months on from them being beaten by Los Blancos in the race for the France international, who was playing with AS Monaco at the time.
However, the Catalan outfit have claimed that the 23-year-old ‘is having many more problems than expected in order to consolidate himself as a starter, and gain Carlo Ancelotti’s trust’.
The report continued: ‘When he’s played he hasn’t lived up to expectations, and he’s had some injury and attitude issues’, with the Champions League holders set to ‘consider the possibility of transferring’ him elsewhere.
In turn, Liverpool are plotting a move for Tchouameni and ‘can do Madrid a favour’ in the process if they take the €80m(£71m)-valued Frenchman off their hands, with Klopp ‘convinced that it would be a magnificent operation’.
Last November, the player himself revealed that the Reds made the first offer for him last year, but his heart was set on a move to the Spanish capital once Los Blancos came in for him (Le Parisien).
Firstly, it’s worth taking this report with a little pinch of salt, considering Ancelotti’s comments in recent days that ‘The future will be bright too; we have top talents like Tchouaméni, Camavinga, Valverde, Ceballos… and they will make history too’ (via @FabrizioRomano on Twitter).
That certainly doesn’t sound like the 23-year-old is a player who’s struggled to earn his manager’s trust, and considering what he’s offered to Real Madrid on the pitch, it’s no surprise that his boss sees a ‘bright’ future for him at the Bernabeu.
As per FBref, the France international combines resourcefulness on the ball with hard graft out of possession. His 91.3% pass completion rate put him among the top 2% of positional peers in Europe’s five main leagues, while his interception average of 2.24 per game places him in the 99th percentile.
Having cost Los Blancos an initial £68.3m to sign him last year, plus a potential £17m in add-ons (BBC Sport), and proven to be a solid operator for Ancelotti’s side, Tchouameni is evidently a gifted player.
How much truth there is in the report above is open for debate, but if Liverpool are convinced of their ability to potentially get him second time around, it’d be well worth putting the question to the powerbrokers at the Bernabeu.