Villarreal rejected a €35m bid from Liverpool for their highly-rated Villarreal forward Samuel Chukwueze in January.
Marca cites a report from France Football claiming the Spanish side rejected the offer for the Nigerian as it is well below his new release clause.
Last month, Diario Sport drew on reports in the English press that the player is on a shortlist for the Merseyside club as he would fit the profile of their attack.
The 20-year-old is enjoying an impressive rise to prominence for the Yellow Submarine’s first-team squad after only making his debut in November 2018.
The Nigerian international is now a regular in Javi Calleja’s side having already made 22 appearances in La Liga this campaign and looks set to have a bright future at the top level.
He penned a new deal at the club in October which is claimed to have a €100m release clause which will be in place for the next two years before dropping to €80m in the third year, which would allow the player to move for less and reward his loyalty.
It follows a report in The Telegraph from December that claimed the forward was also on the shortlist of another English Premier League club – Chelsea.
Chukwueze’s fellow Nigerian John Obi Mikel played almost 250 games for the West London club between 2006 and 2017, while his skillset could be suited to the Premier League.
The Blues are emerging from a FIFA transfer ban in January and will be looking to strengthen their ranks.
