Real Madrid had €35m bid for Argentine midfielder rejected in January

 

Real Madrid failed in their attempts to sign Zenit St Petersburg midfielder Leandro Paredes in January, reports Calciomercato.

 

Zinedine Zidane’s side tabled €35m (£31m) plus Mateo Kovacic in exchange for former Roma midfielder Paredes but the Russian giants rejected Madrid’s offer.

 

Paredes made the surprise decision to leave Roma to join Zenit in the summer in a deal worth €27m (£24m) and has quickly established himself as one of the league’s best players.

 

It has now emerged that Madrid attempted to hand the Argentina international a way back to one of Europe’s top leagues by launching a stunning move for the 23-year-old last month. 

 

The reigning European champions were even willing to hand over Kovacic in addition to €35m but Zenit were not interested in entertaining offers for such a key player midway through the season.

 

Zenit are bracing themselves for interest from Madrid in the summer but Zidane’s side are expected to face competition from Juventus.

 

Real Madrid had €35m bid for Argentine midfielder rejected in January

 

The Old Lady are interested in signing the central midfielder and have reportedly even started talks with Paredes’ agent, although it seems a deal will only happen if they fail to prise Emre Can away from Liverpool.

 

No midfielder has a higher WhoScored rating in this season’s Europa League than Paredes (7.78).