Arsenal and Liverpool ‘maintain contact’ with Real Madrid star

James Shearman

• Updated: 21 Dec 2023 12:01 GMT
• 3 min read

Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni 'remains in contact' with both Arsenal and Liverpool ahead of the January transfer window.

Tchouameni made the €80 million move to Los Blancos from Ligue 1 side Monaco just last summer.

He has performed well at Santiago Bernabeu at large, but he has not yet been able to nail down a place in the starting lineup.

The Frenchman looked to have done so at the start of the 2023-24 season, before suffering an injury which kept him out over the month of November.

With Madrid stocked up well in the centre of midfield, as Federico Valverde, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Eduardo Camavinga are all also vying for regular minutes, it is no guarantee that Tchouameni reclaims his place in the side.

This could prompt him to switch La Liga for the Premier League, with El Nacional reporting that Arsenal and Liverpool remain interested.

Tchouameni to Arsenal/Liverpool

Arsenal and Liverpool will enter the second half of the Premier League season firmly in the title picture.

A statement signing in January, such as Tchouameni, could the difference between winning and losing.

For Arsenal, two of their three midfield positions are permanently locked down (Declan Rice and Martin Odegaard), but the third is up for grabs.

In the more comfortable games, the improving Kai Havertz will suffice, but a lot is being asked of Rice in the tougher matches with essentially two 'number 10s' alongside him.

Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz has been touted as an option for the Gunners, although Tchouameni is a cut above and would make for a seriously strong midfield going forward.

Liverpool, meanwhile, underwent a midfield rebuild in the summer, signing Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister and Wataru Endo.

However, the latter was an underwhelming addition - a 30 year old coming from a poor Stuttgart side.

Starting just five Premier League game this season, it is clear that he is no more than a capable backup for a title challenger.

The defensive midfield area is still a problem for Jurgen Klopp, and wouldn't he love to solve it with the signing of Tchouameni next month.