Liverpool will try to rebound from their Champions League heartache by pursuing a deal for Monaco's midfield maestro Aurelien Tchouameni, according to a new report.
The Reds were denied a seventh European crown by Real Madrid in Saturday night's Champions League final after Los Blancos ran out 1-0 winners at the Stade de France. Jurgen Klopp's side dominated the first-half but were fortunate to head in level at the break after Karim Benzema saw a strike chalked off following a lengthy - and dubious - VAR check.
But Liverpool were undone by Vinicius Jr on the hour mark after the Real Madrid attacker peeled away from Trent Alexander-Arnold to stab home at the back post. The result is the second crushing disappointment in a week for the Reds, who were pipped to the Premier League title on the final day of the season by Manchester City last Sunday.
Once the Reds have licked their wounds from Saturday night, their attention will turn to preparing for next season - and that means that the Reds could come to face-to-face with their European conquerors sooner rather than later in the race to snap up Tchouameni.
According to L'Equipe, via SportWitness, the Reds and Los Blancos will compete for the 22-year-old's signature in the coming weeks. Paris Saint-Germain are also in the race for the sought-after midfielder, but the French international is thought to be 'prioritising' a move to Real Madrid after the Spanish giants ‘recently improved their first proposals’.
It's claimed that, initially, Tchouameni was 'more tempted' by a move to Liverpool before recent developments - but the Reds 'will try their luck again’ now that the current campaign is done and dusted.
Join the debate! Who do you think will win the race for Tchouameni this summer - Liverpool or Real Madrid? Let us know here.
Whoever does win the race for Tchouameni - who has bagged five goals in 50 appearances for Monaco this term - will have to fork out more than €80million (£68m) to strike a deal with the French outfit.
Tchouameni opened the door for a move to either the Premier League or La Liga earlier this week during a revealing interview with CNN.
He told the media giant, via Football Espana: “I like the Spanish games and the English ones. It’s different playing in Spain or England. But in the end for me it’s just a question of adaptation. I am an ambitious person. Every time I do something I just want to win. If I want to be great, I have to adapt in order to gain some things that allow me to grow as a player.”
