Outside of Kylian Mbappe, who has been an obsession of both Florentino Perez and the Real Madrid fanbase for years, the dream transfer target Madridistas are circling the name the most is a defensive midfielder.
Madridistas know how difficult it is to replace Casemiro, and they see Aurelien Tchouameni as the only realistic option to succeed the legendary Brazilian in the next few years. Tchouameni has blown football fans away with his defensive intelligence, consistency, emerging leadership, ball-carrying, passing under pressure, and even ability to score great goals from nothing.
However, it seems as if Real Madrid are not showing the same urgency fans want. MARCA’s Jose Felix Diaz continues to report that Los Blancos are still not going to go after a midfielder this summer. They will keep Dani Ceballos after his big games, but they will reportedly not bring someone else new.
“JFD” also reports that if Tchouameni wants to join Madrid – which he reportedly very much does – then he will have to wait until the summer 2023 transfer window, because the Merengues will not sign him this summer.
Would Tchouameni be willing to wait for Real Madrid like Camavinga did?
The chief MARCA reporter has gone against the grain, as other Madrid reporters have indicated Tchouameni can be signed this summer. But it is true that nobody has reported an official offer to Monaco despite all the interest. Real Madrid are hoping Tchouameni can push Monaco into giving them a discounted price from 70 million euros, but with so many big clubs rightfully interested in such a valuable player, that is unlikely.
Real’s strategy here may be replicating what they did in 2020 and 2021. They had a great deal of interest in Eduardo Camavinga, but Rennes was asking for well over 60 million euros. Eventually, they were able to get him for 30 million euros, as Camavinga was willing to wait one year for his dream and even got Rennes to do as he did and take less money from Real than PSG.
Would Tchouameni do the same to join Real Madrid? Would he be willing to wait one more year? It is not impossible. It seems as if Tchouameni has decided to make his big move this summer, but with Monaco doing well thanks to him and a transfer to his apparent top destination being easier, it is possible. Plus, Casemiro will be a year older, putting Tchouameni in a better position to earn himself early playing time at the Santiago Bernabeu.
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It is a risky strategy from Real, of course, because instead of getting their ideal No. 6 and a future world-class midfielder this summer, they could risk losing out on him entirely to another big club like Liverpool or PSG.