Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni has reportedly snubbed interest from Liverpool after Moises Caicedo also rejected the club last week.
Even though Liverpool had a £111m bid accepted by Brighton & Hove Albion for the Ecuadorian, Caicedo made clear that he only had intentions of joining Chelsea.
Chelsea have since signed Caicedo for £115m, and continue to rival Liverpool in the race to sign Romeo Lavia from Southampton.
The bidding war has seen Lavia's value increase to £60m and despite Liverpool agreeing a fee for the Belgian, his next destination is still unclear.
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With the potential that Chelsea might snatch two of their targets, Liverpool may need to look elsewhere.
However, while The Athletic claims that Liverpool are one of a number of clubs interested in Tchouameni, the player has no interest in making the move.
In addition to this, Real Madrid see the player as an important first-team player and would not entertain offers for him.
Tchouameni started and played the full 90 minutes in Real Madrid's 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on the opening weekend of the La Liga season.
The 23-year-old partnered his French teammate Eduardo Camavinga and new boy Jude Bellingham in midfield, with Luka Modric and Toni Kroos only named as substitutes.
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Liverpool meanwhile, started with a very offensive midfield given their lack of viable options at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
With Fabinho and Jordan Henderson both leaving for Saudi Arabia this summer, no like-for-like replacements have yet been signed.
Therefore, the task was left to Alexis Mac Allister to play in the deeper role in midfield against Chelsea, with Dominik Szoboszlai his partner in the centre.
While Liverpool remain in the market to fill the gaps in their squad, it has been made clear that Tchouameni will not be the player to come in.
Andrew Delaney
