Monaco have again raised their asking price for reported Liverpool transfer target Aurelien Tchouameni.
That’s according to Foot Mercato, who claim that any new deal would possibly have to break Liverpool’s transfer record.
The principality side are said to be looking for between £68m and £85m to sanction a sale for their star man.
That’s a fee that PSG are reportedly willing to pay. Kylian Mbappe is claimed to be trying to convince his countryman to join him in Paris and the French Champions are said to be ‘willing to do anything’ to keep him from joining Real Madrid.
Madrid, for their part, are still ‘in the lead’ for the 22-year-old. That’s due to the club already having an agreement in place with the player.
However Los Blancos may not be able to compete with the asking price in question. Liverpool, meanwhile, are still reportedly waiting until after the Champions League final to make their move.
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Plenty more fish in the sea
The deal to prise Tchouameni away from Monaco is now in danger of becoming one of those transfer sagas you just can’t wait to end.
It had appeared at one stage that it would be a straight battle between Liverpool and Real Madrid. But with Mbappe’s contract now sorted, PSG look ready to go on the offensive in the market.
In pure financial terms, there probably isn’t any way that Liverpool pay anything like £85m for Tchouameni.
We all know how inflated PSG and Madrid have made the transfer market in recent times, too. If the midfielder already has an agreement with Real, it’s potentially not something Liverpool will be willing to match anyway.
Is he worth the money? Potentially. But Liverpool know when they’re being put over a barrel. If the recruitment team at Anfield don’t want to push past the £75m they paid Southampton for Virgil Van Dijk, then they simply won’t.
There are plenty more fish in the sea where midfield talent is concerned. Unless Liverpool are convinced that this is a player who can have the impact of Van Dijk or Alisson Becker, it may be time to admit defeat in this one.