Manchester City eye surprise move for Real Madrid star linked with Liverpool: Reports

Manchester City are reportedly interested in launching a move for Liverpool-linked midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, who has recently emerged as a potential outgoing for Real Madrid.

Tchouameni, 24, has established himself as one of the best holding midfielders since joining Los Blancos from AS Monaco for an initial £68 million in 2022. He has helped Carlo Ancelotti's side lift eight trophies, including one La Liga title.

Now, according to Football Insider, Manchester City have made funds available for manager Pep Guardiola to add Tchouameni to their ranks this month. They are keen to sign the player due to Rodri's prolonged absence from the team.

Tchouameni, who has been a long-term target for Liverpool, could allegedly decide to leave Real Madrid in the near future. He is thought to view the chance of becoming a key starter in midfield for the aforesaid teams a stellar option.

Overall, the Girondins Bordeaux academy product has registered three goals and five assists in 111 matches across all competitions for Real Madrid.

Liverpool boss hails Real Madrid-linked player

Earlier on Saturday (January 11), Liverpool registered a 4-0 FA Cup third round victory against EFL League Two side Accrington Stanley. Real Madrid-linked defender Trent Alexander-Arnold scored the second goal of the contest, hitting the ball from 20 yards out in the 45th minute of the FA Cup home encounter.

After the end of the cup tie, Reds head coach Arne Slot was asked to offer his thoughts on the Real Madrid target's goal from outside of the penalty box. He replied (h/t liverpoolfc.com):

"I can talk for hours about that! Unbelievable. I think the biggest compliment Trent could get was the reaction of everyone after the Manchester United game. Every player around the world, maybe except for a few, has bad games and that's completely normal. But the moment Trent has a bad game, everybody has an opinion about him. Maybe, maybe, that has to do with the contract situation."

Slot, who has lost just two of his 30 overall games as Reds boss, added:

"The biggest compliment you can get if you have such a great first half of the season and you don't play a good game against Manchester United – that was clear for me, for the fans, for you, for all the analysts who saw the game – [is that] many were quite hard on him, and maybe that's the biggest compliment you can get."

Alexander-Arnold, whose current deal will run out this June, has registered two goals and five assists in 26 overall matches for Liverpool this season.