Liverpool

Liverpool

Premier League • England

Euro Paper Talk: Romano reveals personal Jurgen Klopp calls to £87m beast who would have bossed Liverpool midfield; Roma to thwart Tottenham chase for top star

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Jurgen Klopp made several personal calls to try and sign a dominant midfielder who eventually joined Real Madrid this summer, while Thursday’s Euro Paper Talk claims Roma are ready to offer a top star a new contract to ward off interest from Tottenham and Chelsea.

ROMANO REVEALS THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY FOR LIVERPOOL

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Jurgen Klopp was so convinced that Aurelien Tchouameni would have been perfect for Liverpool that he called the midfielder several times to convince him to move to Anfield.

Tchouameni eventually signed for Real Madrid for a fee believed to be in the region of £87million, having been strongly tipped to head to Merseyside instead.

The 22-year-old made a huge impression at Monaco last season, scoring five times in 50 appearances in all competitions.

His passing and defensive midfield capabilities made him one of the top transfer targets throughout the summer.

And, according to transfer insider Romano, Klopp called Tchouameni on numerous occasions. However, the player opted for Real instead.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, the transfer guru said: “Liverpool only go for a player when they are 100% convinced it’s the right player for the project and the club.

“Who was the player? Jude Bellingham a lot of you said, but it was not Jude Bellingham, they asked about Jude Bellingham but it was not a negotiation.

“Liverpool really wanted Aurelien Tchouameni, they tried to enter that race until the end.

“Jurgen Klopp did his best for a deal, he called the player many times, he explained the project and the plan in midfield, but Tchouameni had an agreement with Real Madrid.”

“Klopp really wanted him, he was convinced that Tchouameni was the perfect player for the Liverpool midfield for their project, but sometimes players have different plans and that was the case for Tchouameni.”

Liverpool midfield giving Klopp major headache

Liverpool’s midfield has been a major weakness in the early stages of the new season. Indeed, they were ran all over by Napoli in Wednesday night’s mauling.

Time appears to be finally catching up with James Milner, and with Jordan Henderson, Thiago, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all injury prone, Klopp’s normally solid engine room is looking anything but.

The Reds boss was also known to be in the market for Matheus Nunes, but he ended up at Wolves. Arthur Melo has been brought in from Juventus and featured late on in the Napoli loss, but he is only on loan and not a long-term option.

Links also continue, as they have done for some time, to Jude Bellingham. However, that is arguably a fix for next summer and will not help now.

In the meantime, it looks like Liverpool and Klopp can only reflect on the one that got away in Tchouameni.

ROMA TO HAND SPURS TARGET ZALEWSKI NEW DEAL

Nicola Zalewski, Roma v Feyenoord May 2022

Contract talks over a new deal for Nicola Zalewski are set to commence as Roma look to ward off interest from clubs across Europe. Chelsea, Tottenham and PSG have all been showing interest. (Calciomercato)

Galatasaray have agreed a loan deal with PSG for 29-year-old Argentina striker Mauro Icardi. (Fabrizio Romano)

Al-Rayyan playmaker James Rodriguez has been offered to Galatasaray. (Pipe Sierra)

Aston Villa are reportedly are another Premier League side in the battle for Vasco da Gama starlet Andrey Santos. (Jorge Nicola)

Sevilla have decided against the sacking of Julen Lopetegui – at least for the time being. (Diario AS)

MORE EURO TRANSFER GOSSIP

Switzerland internationals Ruben Vargas and Noah Okafor

Leeds United are interested in signing Noah Okafor from RB Salzburg. (Calciomercato)

Juventus are eager to sign Aston Villa’s Douglas Luiz in the winter transfer window and will add Moise Kean in any deal. (JuveLive)

Fulham winger Ivan Cavaleiro is set to move to Turkish club Alanyaspor on a season-long loan.

Bodo Glimt forward Ola Solbakken has turned down two requests from Turkey to sign with Roma. (Gazzetta dello Sport)

Marco Rose has been appointed as the new head coach of Bundesliga side RB Leipzig.

Barcelona have denied rejecting a bid from Gerard Pique to buy a stake in Barca Studios. (ESPN)