Real Madrid have agreed to sign Aurélien Tchouameni from Monaco for €80million (£68.6m) plus bonuses.
That's according to RMC, who report the 22-year-old has chosen to join Los Blancos over Liverpool this summer. Tchouameni has been heavily linked with a move to Anfield but it is understood he has agreed to sign for the Spanish giants on a five-year deal instead.
Tchouameni has made 95 appearances for Monaco since joining from Bordeaux in 2019, scoring eight times. His form for the Ligue 1 outfit has also earned him multiple France caps.
He now looks set to sign for Real Madrid despite interest from the Reds and Monaco sporting director Paul Mitchell spoke about Tchouameni's future. When asked about whether he would prefer to sell him to Liverpool, Mitchell said: "I don't have a preference to be honest! As always when you sell a player, there needs to be fair compensation. The market is different every year.
"Everyone was able to see what a top player Aurelien is, but everyone also knows that we are an ambitious club with an ambitious shareholder. So no, I have no preference when it comes to selling him. We will have to be very aggressive in terms of the fee we demand to lose such an incredibly gifted player."
Quizzed on how difficult Monaco's task will be to replace Tchouameni, Mitchell affirmed: "That's why he's so sought after! The market is usually pretty smart especially in the clubs you mentioned. That's why replacing him will be incredibly difficult but we will try to increase the full capacity of the team. I think it's important to keep building the team and not just focus on the individuals that make it up.
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"We have a very competitive style of play and for us it would be a mark of success to build the depth of the team and the quality of the whole group because we are also going to come out of the pre-season with matches that will continue until mid-September. That's why I think replacing Aurelien Tchouameni at that time would be a difficult task, but it would be for anyone."
He registered 2.2 tackles with 2.7 interceptions per game for club and country last term, often partnering Manchester United's Paul Pogba for France. Tchouameni, also adept at tidy dribbling and splitting the lines with pinpoint passes, is now a regular for Didier Deschamps ' side, helping Les Blues win the UEFA Nations League last autumn with a starting berth in the final.
