Jose Mourinho's Impact on Real Madrid and Liverpool's Midfield Strategy
Jose Mourinho’s looming return to Real Madrid is about more than a familiar face on the touchline. It could blow open one of the summer’s most intriguing midfield storylines – and drag Liverpool straight into the middle of it.
The Portuguese coach is expected to be confirmed as Madrid’s new head coach, with multiple leading outlets aligned on the same outcome: the Bernabéu is bracing for Mourinho, version two. That means a reset, a reshaping, and a squad built to his taste.
And Mourinho’s taste, according to Cope, starts with a destroyer.
Mourinho’s first demand: a new shield
Top of his list sits Morten Hjulmand, the Danish midfielder anchoring Sporting CP. Hjulmand has been tracked by clubs across Europe, his blend of aggression and positional discipline making him one of the more coveted holding midfielders on the market.
If Mourinho gets his way, Real Madrid will move for him this summer. That one decision could send shockwaves through the rest of the midfield department.
Because if Hjulmand walks in, someone important almost certainly walks out.
Alarm bells at Anfield
Liverpool’s radar has not been locked on Hjulmand, but their scouts have long circled two names in Madrid’s engine room: Aurélien Tchouaméni and Eduardo Camavinga.
Both have been repeatedly linked with Anfield in recent years. Tchouaméni even admitted, in an interview with Le Parisien, that he came close to joining Liverpool back in 2022 before choosing Real Madrid. The admiration has never really faded on Merseyside.
Now the dynamic changes. The Telegraph reports that Tchouaméni could be allowed to leave this summer, with Manchester United already credited with interest. If Mourinho insists on signing a new specialist holding midfielder, the Frenchman suddenly looks like the expendable asset who can fund the rebuild.
And that is where Liverpool re-enter the frame.
They badly need a true defensive midfielder to lock the structure of their team, a long-term solution at the base of midfield. If Madrid put Tchouaméni on the market and Mourinho pushes for Hjulmand, the opportunity that slipped away in 2022 may reappear – this time under very different circumstances.
The door is not just ajar. It’s creaking open.
Tchouaméni under strain in Madrid
As of 20 May 2026, Tchouaméni’s situation in the Spanish capital is anything but serene. The 26-year-old has featured heavily – 49 appearances this season – yet the mood around the club has darkened.
Barcelona’s back-to-back La Liga titles have cut deep. For a club conditioned to dominance, watching their great rivals celebrate twice in succession has ramped up pressure at every level. In that climate, every mistake feels bigger, every disagreement louder.
Earlier in May, tensions spilled over on the training ground. Tchouaméni was involved in a physical altercation with teammate Federico Valverde, an incident President Florentino Pérez publicly tried to downplay. The story still poured into the media, feeding the narrative of a restless, fractured dressing room.
A new coach, a bruised squad, a high-value midfielder who has not fully settled and now finds himself at the centre of speculation. It is a classic Real Madrid crossroads.
A summer shaped in the middle of the pitch
If Mourinho walks through the Bernabéu doors with Hjulmand as a priority target, Real’s midfield hierarchy changes in an instant. Tchouaméni, once a cornerstone signing, becomes a potential sacrifice.
Manchester United are already circling. Liverpool, searching for exactly his profile, cannot ignore the situation. One manager’s first request in Madrid may end up deciding who controls the middle of the pitch in England next season.
Watch this space – because Mourinho’s first move might be the one that reshapes two Premier League midfields before a ball is even kicked.
