Liverpool will give up on deals for Real Madrid duo Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde in order to seal a move for Sofyan Amrabat, according to reports in Spain.
The Reds are still on the lookout for another midfield signing this summer despite bringing in Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Wataru Endo over the last couple of months.
Mac Allister and Szoboszlai came in after Liverpool saw James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita leave on free transfers at the end of June,
But the unexpected departures of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho led the Reds to place bids for both Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, before the two midfielders moved to Premier League rivals Chelsea.
Japan international Endo joined from Stuttgart in an £18m deal last week but there’s speculation that Jurgen Klopp is still looking for one more midfielder before the window shuts on September 1.
Fiorentina’s Amrabat and Bayern Munich’s Ryan Gravenberch seem the most likely, while Manchester City’s Kalvin Phillips continues to be linked.
And Spanish publication Nacional insists that it definitely won’t be Real Madrid pair Tchouameni and Valverde with the La Liga outfit moving to ‘KO’ Klopp’s transfer plans.
They reckon Klopp – who has led Liverpool to four points from their first two Premier League matches of the season – wanted to sign one of the two midfielders this summer in the hope that the arrival of Jude Bellingham at the Bernabeu would move them down the pecking order.
There have been rumours of bids for both players with Real valuing Valverde at around €130m (£111m), while Tchouameni could be available for around €100m (£86m).
But now Klopp has been left ‘in the lurch’ by the Real Madrid duo as the Liverpool boss has ‘suffered another new rejection’ as Tchouameni and Valverde both rule out ‘betraying Carlo Ancelotti’.
Nacional claim that ‘history has once again outweighed money’ after Klopp also apparently lost out in the race to sign Bellingham this summer to Real.
And now Liverpool and Klopp have been forced to ‘settle for’ Amrabat after neither Valverde or Tchouameni ‘succumbed to the siren songs’ from Anfield.
The Premier League side see Amrabat as a ‘much more feasible option’ although ‘logically, it is a step backwards’ after aiming for the Real Madrid duo.
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