Liverpool reportedly thought they were 90% of the way towards clinching the transfer of Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni a couple of weeks ago.
However, it now seems that the France international is set to choose Real Madrid instead after his club allowed him to pick his preferred destination, according to 90min.
Tchouameni has shone in Ligue 1 and looks like he’ll be a terrific signing for Los Blancos if they can agree a fee with Monaco, but it’s disappointing news for Liverpool.
The Reds could really have done with bringing in Tchouameni as they never replaced Georginio Wijnaldum after his departure to Paris Saint-Germain last summer.
Still, it seems increasingly clear that Tchouameni is on his way to the Bernabeu, as he supposedly told his team-mates, according to Fabrizio Romano in his exclusive CaughtOffside column.
Real’s focus for now will be on beating Liverpool in Saturday’s Champions League final, but this also looks like a significant victory over the club in the transfer market.