Real Madrid have identified Monaco defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni as their top transfer target for the summer 2022 window after Galactic forwards Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. There are even some Madridistas who would prefer the team prioritizes Tchouameni over Haaland, given Mbappe will be upgrading the front line anyway.
Why are Madridistas so keen on Tchouameni? Just watch him play. He is a rock for Monaco, and at the age of 22, he is already one of the world’s finest defensive midfielders. Finally, Real may have identified a more than adequate replacement for Casemiro as the long-term “6” in midfield. Tchouameni has all the defensive attributes and is even better on the ball.
But Tchouameni won’t be cheap and won’t be without competition. Where do Real Madrid rank among the most likely candidates to sign Tchouameni from Monaco this summer?
3. Chelsea
If you asked me to create this list a couple of months ago, I would have placed Chelsea at the top of the list. As it stands right now, Chelsea may be subject to sanctions that would prevent them from making incoming transfers. A 60 million euro move for Tchouameni, for example, would not fly, as the Blues are suffering the repercussions of having benefited from Roman Abramovich’s stolen money for so many years.
Still, there is no guarantee that Chelsea will actually be banned when the summer transfer window rolls around. They are the defending Champions League winners and have shown significant interest in Tchouameni for a while. Their financial situation makes them a question mark, but I would consider one of the Premier League’s top three teams as being very much in the running until definitively shown otherwise.