Liverpool are desperately trying to sign another central midfielder to make up for the summer exodus, but they’ve lost out on Moises Caicedo and are struggling to convince Romeo Lavia to Anfield. According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, Jurgen Klopp is showing a keen interest in Aurelien Tchouameni, but it remains to be seen if their pursuit of the 23-year-old will be successful.
Tchouameni joined Real Madrid from AS Monaco in 2022 and has gone on to make 51 appearances in all competitions, notching four assists. The talented defensive-midfielder has been a regular since his move from Ligue 1 and has five years remaining on his contract at the Santiago Bernabeu, so Real aren’t likely to sell him.
Liverpool sold Fabinho to Ittihad Club and Jordan Henderson to Al-Ettifaq while Naby Keïta, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain moved to Werder Bremen, Brighton & Hove Albion and Besiktas respectively, so Klopp was left without a midfield ahead of the season.
Alexis Mac Allister was signed from Brighton as a replacement midfielder and Dominik Szoboszlai was brought in from RB Leipzig as a central playmaker, but Liverpool need more. Klopp has Curtis Jones, Thiago and Stefan Bajcetic who can operate in the engine room, but Tchouameni would be a major improvement.
Only Thiago (2.4) and Ibrahima Konaté (2.1) averaged more tackles per game than the French international (1.9) while no Liverpool player had more interceptions (1.5), so it’s easy to see why Klopp is keen. Real paid €100m (£86m) for Tchouameni last year, so he wouldn’t come cheap if Liverpool were to make a formal approach.
However, Ornstein says Real Madrid would be reluctant to sell the Frenchman while Tchouameni doesn’t want to leave either. The 23-year-old is happy in the Spanish capital, so any pursuit Liverpool make is unlikely to be successful. Klopp could still benefit from another midfielder, but it may not be the French international.
Lavia could be following Caicedo to Chelsea too, so Liverpool may have to turn their attention elsewhere.
