Chelsea are reportedly complicating matters for Xabi Alonso by joining the race to sign Bayer Leverkusen defender Jeremie Frimpong.

Alonso is said to be keen on bringing Frimpong to Real Madrid if he is to succeed Carlo Ancelotti as manager at the Santiago Bernabeu.

That is according to Spanish publication Depor, who claim that Frimpong's arrival is one of the Spaniard's "requirements" to sit in the Real Madrid dugout next season.

Los Blancos are in search of a successor for right-back Dani Carvajal and have identified Frimpong as an ideal replacement.

But they will reportedly face stiff competition for his signature from Chelsea and Liverpool.

The Blues' interest comes as a surprise given that Reece James is now back to full fitness while they only recently signed 20-year-old French full-back Malo Gusto from Lyon for PS30.

7million.

However, in the case of Liverpool, it is an entirely different story.

The Reds are looking to bring in a new right-back to allow Trent Alexander-Arnold to move further up the pitch.

Alexander-Arnold has impressed as a central midfielder for England and now Liverpool will be hoping he can reap the same rewards for them.

Besides Alexander-Arnold's positional switch, there is also a distinct lack of natural right-backs at the club.

Centre-back Joe Gomez fills in when Alexander-Arnold is not available while the next best option would be Calvin Ramsay, who is currently on loan at Preston North End until the end of the season.

The signing of Frimpong would therefore serve as an important bit of business for the Merseyside club.

Frimpong, who was previously on the books with Manchester City and Celtic in his youth, has been tearing it up the Bundesliga since signing for Bayer Leverkusen in January 2021.

The 22-year-old was named in the German top-tier's Team of the Season for the 2022/2023 campaign and was rewarded for his fine form with a maiden cap for the Dutch national team last month.

He has thrived under the watchful eye of Alonso since the 41-year-old arrived at the BayArena in October of last year and it appears his manager isn't willing to break up their partnership just yet.

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