Real Madrid Remain 'Very Attentive' to Houssem Aouar Developments

Real Madrid remain ‘very attentive’ to developments regarding talented Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar, who has also been linked with virtually every big club in Europe in recent months.

Although only recently 22, Aouar has been a key part of Lyon’s first-team since 2017 and has showcased his talents this season in the French club’s impressive run to the Champions League semi-finals, which saw them knock out Juventus and Manchester City along the way.

Lyon sporting director Juninho Pernambucano has already hinted that Lyon might have to consider letting the young Frenchman leave if an offer from a big club comes in.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Real are keeping a close eye on Aouar and are ‘very attentive’ to the situation in case the opportunity arises to sign him. Juventus are said to be similarly watching things, but Zinedine Zidane will ‘insist’ on Madrid doing a deal if there is a genuine possibility.

A deal for Aouar is anticipated to set any buyer back around €50m.

Assuming they have the resources to hand, Real appear to stand a better chance of signing Aouar than most. AS reported in April that Zidane had already been ‘long keeping an eye’ on the emerging talent by then, while the player himself counts the Real coach among his idols.

The pair even met up by chance in Dubai over the Christmas period, while Aouar has previously credited Zidane as the individual who ‘made me fall in love with football’.

Aouar also has an existing relationship with Real striker Karim Benzema. They have known each other for a number of years already as their families come from the same part of Lyon, while they also share Algerian heritage – Zidane’s family also hailed from Algeria.

Benzema uploaded a picture of himself with Aouar on Instagram back in 2017, before the midfielder had even made his Lyon debut. Aouar has also revealed that he counts on Benzema for ‘advice’.

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