Liverpool have a big advantage in the race for Real Madrid centre-back – but it could cost them a forward

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Liverpool could sign Raphael Varane from Real Madrid this summer, but only if they allow Sadio Mané to move in the opposite direction.

L’Equipe revealed on Monday that Varane is considering a shock exit from the Santiago Bernabeu after eight trophy-laden years at the club.

Madrid are set to embark on a squad overhaul this summer, with returning manager Zinedine Zidane promised a transfer kitty of at least £300m.

According to France Football, Zidane has made Mané – who has scored 17 goals in the Premier League this season – one of his leading transfer targets as he seeks to bolster his attacking options.

And according to reports in the Guardian, Madrid could attempt to use Varane as a makeweight in a deal for the Senegalese, who joined Liverpool from Southampton for £34m in 2016.

The French centre-back is said to prefer Manchester United to Liverpool, though, which could scupper the Reds’ hopes of bringing him to Anfield.

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Greg Lea
Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).