Carlo Ancelotti kept his cards close to his chest when quizzed about Real Madrid’s efforts to sign Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Alexander-Arnold has entered the last six months of his Liverpool contract and can talk to clubs outside England about signing on a free transfer.
Real Madrid has long been seen as the likely destination for the 26-year-old, with the Spanish club enquiring about the England international’s availability on the eve of the January transfer window.
That approach was swiftly rebuffed by Liverpool who are said to be unwilling to sell one of their key players midway through the Premier League campaign.
Reports suggest that Real may come back with an improved second bid of around £20million, but Ancelloti did not want to reveal any details when asked ahead of his side’s La Liga match against Valencia on Friday.
‘It is difficult for me to talk about that in this context. But we are going to have to wait and see,’ he said.
‘We are focused on all these games in January and the game tomorrow [against Valencia] and I’ve got nothing more to say. It’s not sensible for me to speak about the market right now.’
Pressed on the subject, the Italian added: ‘I’m not going to speak about it because right now, here, is not the place to talk about it.
‘We will see what will happen but I have a great squad. We have got injuries and problems with that but we are also able to overcome them.’
While a deal in January looks unlikely, several reports in Spain suggest that both the club and the player are looking to make the move happen in the summer.
Real are looking for several defensive upgrades in the upcoming windows, with Bayern Munich full-back Alphonso Davies also being targeted.
And the later reports from Spanish publication Sport suggest that the xlub are also sounding out a future bid for Arsenal centre-back William Saliba.
The French defender is contracted to Arsenal until the summer of 2027 with a bid in the region of €100million (£83m) potentially required to prise him away from north London.
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