Real Madrid 'turn down £41.9m approach from Liverpool' to sign Marco Asensio

Liverpool were reportedly ready to pay €50m (£41.9m, $53.8m) to secure the services of Real Madrid sensation Marco Asensio ahead of the coming summer transfer window. However, both Diario AS and Cadena Cope are claiming that Los Blancos quickly turned down the approach from the Merseysiders as Zinedine Zidane considers that the 21-year-old playmaker will be a key part of the future of the La Liga giants.

The 21-year-old offensive midfielder was recruited by Real Madrid in December 2015 as a prospect for the future after proving to be a revelation in the Spanish second division while playing for Mallorca.

Barcelona were also then interested in the Spanish teenager but Los Blancos won the race after agreeing to pay €3.7m to Mallorca to secure his services.

The Spanish playmaker remained on loan at Mallorca for the second part of the 2014-2015 campaign before being sent to Espanyol in the 2015-2016 campaign to enjoy a first experience in the top flight.

Asensio's meteoric development continued at the Barcelona based side after scoring 4 goals and grabbing 15 assists in 37 appearances.

Real Madrid then received a number of loan proposals ahead of the current campaign but Zidane decided instead to keep him at the Santiago Bernabeu in order to monitor closely his development.

The former Mallorca starlet was expected to play a peripheral role this season but he has made the most of his 29 appearances with Real Madrid to garner a reputation as the next big thing to emerge from the prolific Spanish academy, having scored nine goals and provided a further three to his teammates.

Julen Lopetegui even included him in the Spanish national team earlier in the season and reports in Spain are now saying that Liverpool were ready to break the bank to lure him to Anfield ahead of the 2017-2018 campaign.

Cadena Cope reported on Wednesday night that Real Madrid had been recently sounded by Liverpool with a €50m bid to secure the Spanish starlet.

AS now is backing those claims, assuring that among the offers received by Los Blancos for Asensio, there is a stunning one worth €50m from Liverpool.

However, both Spanish media says that Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp should forget about his signing as Real Madrid won't negotiate his departure at any price.

Yet, AS says that Zidane is ready to part ways with James Rodriguez in the coming summer transfer window in order to give Asensio a bigger role at Real Madrid ahead of the 2017-2018 campaign.

In this sense, Cope says that the France boss could even hand Asensio a starting role in the coming El Clasico against Barcelona if Gareth Bale fails to recover in time. Nevertheless, the Spanish starlet played a key role for Los Blancos in the two recent Champions League victories over Bayern Munich, providing a sensational assist to Cristiano Ronaldo in the first leg and scoring a goal at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.