Aurelien Tchouameni is keeping his cards close to his chest as the saga surrounding his immediate future continues to rumble on.
The Monaco midfielder has emerged as one of the standout players in European football, with the likes of Liverpool, Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain all vying for his signature. Tchouameni was recently named in the Ligue 1 Team of the Season but Monaco look set to cash in with a price tag of more than £65million on his head.
Reports in France claim Real Madrid, fresh from missing out on his compatriot Kylian Mbappe, are leading the race for the 22-year-old amid claims he has already agreed terms over a five-year contract at the Bernabeu.
However, as of Thursday no official agreement has been reached between the two clubs with RMC Sport claiming Monaco could yet ask for more than the €80m (£67m) than had previously been quoted. That ensures Liverpool remain in the race and Tchouameni, when asked about joining one of the Champions League finalists, answered diplomatically and refused to burn any bridges.
"I like both: I can watch Spanish games and English games," he told CNN. "It's different to play in Spain and it's different to play in England, but at the end, for me, it's just a matter of adaptation."
Tchouameni has already moved from Bordeaux to Monaco during his fledgling career, admitting that the idea of following in the footsteps of someone like Mbappe, was an appealing prospect to him.
"I tried to find a lot of players who came here young and then have grown, and they'd be able to play in a bigger club at the end of their journey here in Monaco," the midfielder explained. And he admits that the constant speculation is a source of fun in the dressing room, with his full focus remaining on being the best he can be.
Tchouameni added: "It's funny. With my friends Benoit Badiashile and Djibril Sidibé , every morning they tell me: 'Ah, you go to this club.' And the next day, it's another club. But it's good to be in this situation. It means I'm in a good position. I've worked hard to achieve this, so that the best clubs want me.
“But in the end, it's just social media... the most important thing is to be good in training and in the next game. We'll see.”
Liverpool made an unusually big splash in the January window, signing Luis Diaz from Porto for £50m, with focus currently on whether Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah will agree to terms on extended deals.
But there is a feeling that refreshing his options in midfield is an appealing one to Klopp, especially with reports that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has been put up for sale during the upcoming window.
Reds chairman Tom Werner refused to go into any details on their transfer plans in a recent interview, but stated that as in previous years, they wouldn’t get into bidding wars with the Manchester Citys and Real Madrids of the world.
“I’ll leave the answers to that to Jurgen [Klopp] and Julian," Werner told the Athletic. "They are very astute. I’m sure they will continue to make excellent acquisitions."
And on keeping up with City, he added: “They certainly have more resources than we do, but we have the heart and soul of Liverpool on our side. We’re competing in a very tough league. But I think our performance speaks for itself. We certainly have made it clear that part of the reason that we came into this over 10 years ago was that FFP would be with us.”
