Jude Bellingham took the time to praise former Liverpool transfer target Aurelien Tchouameni last night.
If things had been different, both Bellingham and Tchouameni could be Liverpool players right now.
The Reds have famously targeted both over the past 12-18 months.
As it is, the two midfielders do now play together, but at Real Madrid. And after Tchouameni buried a lovely long-range effort for France last night, Bellingham took to Twitter to praise his teammate.
“What a player man,” wrote the 20-year-old, alongside a fire emoji and, fittingly, a rocket.
With Tchouameni now a key figure for France, and playing regularly for Madrid, Liverpool’s hopes of getting him look to be over for good.
Bellingham blown away by Tchouameni
Although they missed out on him in 2022, it seemed possible that Liverpool might come back in for Tchouameni over the summer just gone.
There were strong reports that having watched him struggle in his first year in Spain, the Reds were keen to have another go.
However, both Madrid and Tchouameni himself stood firm. After paying £85m for the 23-year-old last year, there was no chance of Los Blancos letting him go.
So, he stayed. And now, four games into the La Liga season, Tchouameni has started them all, playing alongside Bellingham in each.
With Eduardo Camavinga and Federico Valverde also regularly involved, Madrid look set to have a midfield for the next decade.
Of course, there’ll be Liverpool fans thinking ‘what does this have to do with us?’ And, technically, they’d be right, it doesn’t affect the Reds in the slightest.
But having so publicly tried to sign both Bellingham and Tchouameni, it’s hard not to feel a sense of ‘what if.’ We’re happy with our midfield options, but signing these two would have been incredible.
