Liverpool facing 'intense battle' with Manchester United to sign 21-year-old worth £50 million

Liverpool and Manchester United could enter an 'intense battle' with Manchester United to land AS Monaco star Aurelien Tchouameni.

The hunt for a replacement for Georginio Wijnaldum goes on and while the likes of Franck Kessie, Yves Bissouma, Florian Neuhaus and co. have been strongly linked over the last several months, we seem no closer to a signing.

Liverpool and Manchester face 'intense' battle for Tchouameni signature

FSG aren't known for being the most prolific of owners and certainly cannot be compared to the owners of Chelsea and Manchester United but apparently, the Reds are facing a battle with arch-rivals, Man Utd, for the services of Monaco star, Tchouameni.

90Min reported just right before Christmas that it will cost around the £50million mark to sign him and the Athletic's David Ornstein has revealed in his 'Transfer Mailbag' that the midfielder is one of the players Jurgen Klopp admires

Ornstein writes: "One of the candidates is Monaco’s Aurelien Tchouameni, although among those also keen on the 21-year-old France international are Manchester United and therefore, if Liverpool choose to take their interest further, the battle for his services is likely to be intense."

Liverpool's 4-2-4 might be perfect for the next Patrick Vieira

Fabinho might be having something of a topsy turvy season as the engine room around him seems to change every week due to injury, suspension, COVID-19 and now AFCON as Naby Keita takes part at the tournament in Cameroon but the Brazilian midfield enforcer remains one of the best defensive midfielders on the planet.

So it stands to reason that even a talent as bright and promising as Tchouameni would be hard-pressed to displace Fabinho from the starting XI.

At Anfield this season, Jurgen Klopp has played a 4-3-3 off the ball but when in possession he has played a hyper-aggressive 4-2-4 which requires two central midfielders - in this case, Thiago and Fabinho - to be incredibly successful with their duels and interceptions.

Tchouameni, compared to Arsenal and Premier League legend Patrick Vieira, could be the ideal man to line up next to Fabinho if Thiago can't remain fit as he continues to battle to shake off injury hassles.

He's got the aggression, physicality, pace, one-touch football ability and pressing knowledge to complement Fabinho.