Man Utd legend tells Ten Hag to hijack Liverpool’s €80m raid on Real Madrid after transfer ‘request’
Club legend Rio Ferdinand has told Man Utd to hijack Liverpool’s move for Real Madrid and France star Aurelien Tchouameni.
The 23-year-old was a priority target for Liverpool prior to his move to Real Madrid in 2022. The Spanish giants signed him for an initial €80m and this fee could rise to €100m with add-ons.
Tchouameni was in and out of the team during his debut season for Real Madrid and the arrival of Jude Bellingham has fuelled reports linking him with a potential exit this summer.
Man Utd are in the market for a new midfielder and Chelsea’s Mason Mount is understood to be their main target.
United have had a second bid for Mount rejected by Chelsea and they are likely to return with another offer, but Ferdinand thinks his former club should swoop for Tchouameni.
“In midfield, you know who I would go and get? I would go try to get Tchouameni,” Ferdinand said on his Vibe with Five podcast.
“He is going to be the one who doesn’t play, he is the odd man out at the minute. Massive improvement.”
Liverpool meanwhile are still being linked with Tchouameni with them in the market for one or two more midfielders after signing Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton for £35m.
Spanish outlet Nacional are reporting Liverpool are looking to ‘take advantage of the complex situation’ after Tchouameni’s first season at Real Madrid did not ‘go as expected’.
‘The addition of Bellingham does make life even more complicated for the French international’ and he is ‘thinking’ about a transfer.
Jurgen Klopp has ‘appeared’ to ‘try and convince’ him to join Liverpool. The Premier League giants are ‘preparing a €55m proposal’ for Tchouameni but ‘this will not be enough’.,
Real Madrid are said to be holding out for ‘even more money’ and they have ‘requested’ €80m from rival clubs.
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Southampton’s Romeo Lavia has been mentioned as an alternative target for Liverpool but journalist Neil Jones has revealed that the Arsenal target is viewed as “too much of a gamble”.
“Romeo Lavia’s also an interesting one, as he’s probably the sort of player Liverpool would’ve signed if things had gone a little more to plan in the last twelve months,” Jones told Caught Offside.
He added: “Lavia is a top talent but I get the impression he’d possibly be seen as too much of a gamble at the moment.
“He’s a player they admire and they’re by no means alone in that – Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, they’re all in there, but from a Liverpool perspective, whenever I’ve spoken to people around the club about Lavia, the impression I’m getting is that it’s maybe a bit too soon for Liverpool to put all their eggs in that basket.
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