Liverpool Transfer Rumors 2018: Reds Interested in Real Madrid's Dani Ceballos

Real Madrid's Dani Ceballos has reportedly emerged as a potential replacement for Philippe Coutinho.

According to Spanish publication Diario Gol, the Spanish midfielder is interested in making the switch from Real Madrid to Liverpool because he wants to play under Jürgen Klopp. The report says that four other unnamed clubs are pursuing him as well, but the Reds are believed to be the favorites to land him because of their financial muscle.

"Ceballos is said to have held talks with Bernabeu officials in a hotel this week over his future at the club," Ian Doyle said in his column for the Liverpool Echo.

"The 21-year-old only arrived at the Spanish giants from Real Madrid last summer for a fee in the region of £15million. But Ceballos has struggled for game time and has featured in just six La Liga games this season — playing for just 31 minutes since October," he added.

Dani Ceballos was thrust into the international spotlight after he led Spain to the final of the 2017 UEFA Under-21 European Championships. Spain would lose to Germany, but Ceballos won the Player of the Tournament award. As expected, it didn't take long for La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona to come calling.

Real Madrid would win the tug of war, but in hindsight, Ceballos probably should have chosen Barcelona because he didn't see much action with Los Blancos with the likes of Isco, Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić playing ahead of him.

Liverpool probably don't have to spend much to sign Ceballos. However, Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane reportedly doesn't want the 21-year-old midfielder to leave in the middle of the season, per Diario Gol.

Spanish football journalist Guillem Balagué has also refuted the report by saying that Ceballos isn't really on Liverpool's radar. He also noted that Real Madrid will not allow him to leave anyway.