Liverpool look set to miss out on Aurelien Tchouameni as Real Madrid have agreed a fee of around £85m with Monaco.
That’s according to The Athletic, who claim that the Frenchman turned down interest from Liverpool, PSG and Manchester United.
It’s claimed that the ‘total package’ of the deal could even exceed £85m.
The regulatory procedures and paperwork are reportedly the only things left to finalise before an official announcement is made.
Liverpool lose out on Tchouameni
In truth it had long since looked as though Liverpool’s pursuit of Tchouameni would end in defeat to Real Madrid.
The young Frenchman had his eyes on a switch to the Spanish capital. Unfortunately there wasn’t anything Liverpool could do to persuade him otherwise.
The 22-year-old looks to be a real talent who can still get even better.
Despite that, £85m is a heck of a lot of money. Had Liverpool pushed Madrid all the way, they would have ended up paying a club record fee.
Of course Liverpool could still end up regretting that they didn’t. Tchouameni has all the tools to be a top-class midfielder for the next decade and more.
But Liverpool will have something different up their sleeve instead. They live in a different financial reality to the likes of Real. Hopefully they’ll turn up someone who’ll cost halve as much but end up being twice the player.
All the best to Tchouameni at the European Champions. It’s a shame to miss out on his talents, but I’ve a feeling Liverpool will be just fine without him.