Real Madrid: Aurelien Tchouameni is starting to justify his price tag

The price of a player is often determined by the market. Supply and demand play a role in world football as it does with the world economy.

When Real Madrid splashed the cash to sign holding midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, the club was questioned by the general public for the €100 million it took to lure the 22-year-old away from AS Monaco. As we now know, president Florentino Perez paid a bit more than expected in an attempt to undercut the attempts of Liverpool and PSG to sign Tchouameni.

Real Madrid suddenly lost its stalwart in the midfield, Casemiro, to a desperate bid from Manchester United that would give the Brazilian and hefty raise and a four-year deal. The club rightfully let Casemiro decide what he wanted to do, and after five Champions League titles and nearly a decade in the Spanish capital, the anchor of the midfield trio decided it was time for a new challenge.

Enter Aurelien Tchouameni.

Real Madrid purchased the French international because of his undeniable talent. Tchouameni separated himself from the pack in Ligue 1 similarly to Eduardo Camavinga. And, seeing as the two midfielders are close in age and are expected to be staples in the French midfield for decades to come, spending extra on him now as opposed to in a few years is far better.

The arrival of Tchouameni over the summer opened the door for Casemiro to move on and Real Madrid was more than willing to make the “tank” the second most expensive transfer of a player over the age of 30. The first was Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Juventus for over £100 million.

Though it is the third highest fee paid for a player during the summer transfer window, Aurelien Tchouameni is already justifying the €100 million price tag

The price tag and departure of Casemiro have not had any effect on Tchouameni’s form through his first three LaLiga appearances.

A starter in all three, the young Frenchman has already gotten valuable experience working with every other midfielder in the squad. He’s played admirably in consecutive away matches against Celta Vigo and Espanyol, providing his first assist with a lovely through-ball to Vinicius Junior in the win over the weekend.

That assist was just the first glimpse of what Tchouameni brings to the vaunted Real Madrid midfield. Though he will occupy the deep-lying no. 6 role much like Casemiro, Tchouameni is consistently more involved in building the attack.

He plays with a defense-first mentality, leading Europe’s top five leagues in tackles across almost 50 games between 2020 and 2021, but his intelligence in the attack and his passing quality rivals that of teammate Toni Kroos.

In 238 minutes of getting settled into his new club, he has completed 93 percent of his passes, is averaging 63 passes per match, has two key passes, and that one assist.

If there were anyone who could possibly replace Casemiro and carry Real Madrid into its next generation of success, it’s Aurelien Tchouameni.

And it certainly helps that he is surrounded by two of the greatest midfielders in the club’s history – Kroos and Luka Modric – while being paired with his French teammate Camavinga, and the always energetic Federico Valverde. Everyone at the club, including the manager, is full of admiration for the Frenchman and holds him in great regard.

We are already seeing why Los Blancos went ahead and paid €100 million to sweep Tchouameni from Liverpool and PSG. He will only improve playing in his preferred role while surrounded by some of the best players in the world.

The Real Madrid midfield is in secure hands with Aurelien Tchouameni clogging up the middle.