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.
2. PSG
But as of right now, the biggest challenger to Real Madrid for Aurelien Tchouameni is PSG. The Parisians went hard after Eduardo Camavinga last summer to add some much-needed youth and quality to their midfield, which has turned out to be a major weak point in the 2021/22 season – Marco Verratti’s excellence aside.
Camavinga actually took less money from Madrid and signed with his dream club over PSG. Tchouameni has not made any indications that Los Blancos are his preferred destination, but since he and the club have reportedly agreed to personal terms, there is reason to believe Tchouameni could do what Camavinga did.
But PSG have a couple of things going for them. They have the money, obviously. Maybe more importantly, they have a clearer path to playing time for the 22-year-old Frenchman. PSG’s only midfielder outperforming Tchouameni in Ligue 1 is the world-class Verratti, who has been acclaimed throughout his career in Paris. That statement about Tchouameni outplaying the other midfielders at the Parc des Princes applies to the 2020/21 season, too.
PSG are angry. They have a vendetta against Real Madrid, and while Florentino Perez was proactive in ensuring that Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Leonardo cannot steal away any of his prized talents, the Qatar-owned club can very well focus their efforts on beating the Merengues on the transfer market.
Tchouameni would be a major upgrade for PSG. They know that. So Real Madrid fans should prepare for a tough battle with the current Ligue 1 leaders.
Real Madrid
Yes, yes, I do believe Real Madrid are the favorites to sign Aurelien Tchouameni heading into April 2022. That is subject to change based on how the transfer market moves, and there is the possibility that if Real do sign Erling Haaland despite sending mixed signals to their fans, they may not have the money left over to sign Tchouameni. I don’t actually buy that, though; it is still possible for Real to bring in a quartet of players this summer – not just Haaland and Mbappe. They have stabilized themselves very well financially, though, perhaps, that is something Florentino Perez will not risk…
Regardless, Real are in a good position. They have an attractive sporting project, and the allure of the Santiago Bernabeu still has more pull than anything else in football. Just look at the way Kylian Mbappe waited out PSG’s lucrative offers in order to join Real Madrid.
Tchouameni can be a part of the next elite midfield, joining forces with Fede Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga. Those two players have been patient behind “KCM”, and though fans would like to see them get even more opportunities, they have shown that young midfielders can still get some run. In Tchouameni’s case, I think he will replace Casemiro in the starting XI sooner than a lot of people may be inclined to think.
There is also the Monaco factor. Why would Monaco want to sell to PSG? Remember, Camavinga wasn’t the only one who took less money to make his transfer to Madrid happen. Rennes accepted less money from Los Blancos than PSG were offering.
Monaco are even bigger rivals to PSG, and there is more bad blood between them. After all, Mbappe is going for free because of PSG’s stubbornness in the face of a 200 million euro offer from the Merengues in 2021. Monaco stood to make big money from a sell-on clause. Instead, they are getting nothing. If they were to take an offer from their monopolizing rivals in Ligue 1, you’d have to think they would need substantially more money to be swayed.
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Real Madrid are the favorites. PSG may have the money, but they have become a difficult organization to trust after their unprofessional behavior both in the aftermath of the loss to Real Madrid and this past summer in their treatment of Mbappe. Future superstars like Tchouameni – we have essentially seen this with Haaland, too – may be less inclined to join the Qatar-owned project because of the behavior of the individuals in charge of the club.