**Julian Ward is reportedly keen on bringing Aurelien Tchouameni to Liverpool as his first signing after being reinstalled as the club’s sporting director.**
Liverpool appointed Ward to replace Richard Hughes this week, which has surprised some fans, but after Hughes’ spell drew mixed reactions, it may help to have someone familiar with the club lead contract talks and transfer negotiations again.
Now, Ward’s return to Anfield suggests Tchouameni is back on the club’s radar.
Liverpool tried to sign both Tchouameni and Jude Bellingham during Ward’s first tenure as sporting director, but the former chose Madrid while the Reds passed on the chance to sign Bellingham.
According to Football Insider journalist Pete O’Rourke, Liverpool would love to sign Tchouameni with Ward at the helm. He made these comments before the appointment was made official.
_“Yeah, obviously Julian Ward does look like he’s going to be reappointed as the new sporting director at Liverpool,” Pete O’Rourke told Football Insider a few days ago._
_“He’s obviously going to have targets in mind and there will be work to do on this Liverpool squad ahead of upcoming transfer windows._
_“As you said, Ward was interest previously in bringing Tchouameni to Anfield, and I’m sure there will be interest going forward because he remains very much on Liverpool’s radar._
_“But it could be a very difficult deal to do in the near future because he only recently signed a new contract at Real until 2031.”_
Liverpool’s midfield is widely regarded as an unsolved problem.
Alexis Mac Allister has started the season a lot better than he did in the 2025/26 campaign. To be fair, he came into last season carrying an injury, which, alongside Arne Slot’s questionable fitness approach, did not give the Argentine a good chance.
However, there remain concerns over the overall balance of the Liverpool midfield, with Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai ill-suited to playing in a double pivot together given their similar playing style.
Signing someone like Tchouameni would solve a number of problems for Andoni Iraola and provide more of that defensive intensity that has been lacking since Fabinho left the club.