David Ornstein drops report on Liverpool move to sign Aurelien Tchouameni

Liverpool have reportedly made contact with Real Madrid over the possibility of signing a midfielder amid their transfer battle with Chelsea.

An interesting dynamic of their transfer battle was the 1-1 draw played out between two sides at Stamford Bridge in the opening Premier League game of the season.

Most obvious for Jurgen Klopp was the need for a new no.6 but their current transfer targets may slip out of their grasp with Chelsea now close to signing both Lavia and Caicedo.

Liverpool have reportedly reacted to this fresh transfer twist by reaching out to Real Madrid.

Liverpool make contact with Real Madrid over Valverde and Tchouameni

According to the Secret Scout, "Liverpool have enquired about the situation of Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde as Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia look set set to join Chelsea.

"Real Madrid midfielders are of serious interest to Liverpool."

It is going to be incredibly difficult to sign either Tchouameni or Valverde this summer after Kylian Mbappe recommitted himself to PSG for the season ahead.

Previously, the situation was such that the Spanish club could have been persuaded with a huge offer but now that Madrid will just wait to sign Mbappe on a free transfer next summer, they will be very reluctant to part ways.

While the Secret Scout claims that Liverpool have "serious interest" in the Madrid midfielders, it's clear to see now that the Merseyside outfit has serious cash as well.

That said, Liverpool will not be able to sign the midfielder, according to David Ornstien, who writes that while the Reds are "among a number of players who have long-term admiration for Aurelien Tchouameni", Real Madrid do not want to sell.

Liverpool must spend the Caicedo money on Tchouameni

Signing Tchouameni would be a full circle moment for Liverpool after they tried to sign the 23-year-old last summer before missing out to Real Madrid.

His move to the Santiago Bernabeu cost around €80 million plus €20 million in add-ons (£68.9m + £17.2m).

With with five years remaining on his €240,385 (£207k/week) per week contract, he won't come cheap. The £111 million figure Liverpool agreed with Brighton for Caicedo might be required to sign Tchouameni.

Especially given the late stage of the transfer window.

Valverde is an industrious and gifted player that would have been an amazing replacement for Jordan Henderson had the club not already signed Dominik Szoboszlai.

That said, the Uruguayan wouldn't move the needle too much now. The priority for Liverpool is signing a top no.6 and that's exactly what Aurelien Tchouameni is.

The former AS Monaco star played 2,840 minutes last season and recorded some of the most impressive stats for a central midfielder in Europe.

Along with his 92.9% pass completion rate, data from Fbrefs paints an incredible picture of just how dominant Tchouameni is in the middle of the pitch.

His 1.94 interceptions per 90 is better than 98% of midfielders in the game while he will certainly pass the Premier League physicality test with flying colours winning 1.91 aerial duels per game (88th percentile).

Tchouameni started for Carlo Ancelotti's side on Saturday, playing the full 90 minutes as Real Madrid beat Athletic Club 2-0 in La Liga with goals from Rodrygo and former Liverpool midfield target Jude Bellingham.