Jose Mourinho has been one of the most aggressive managers in world football at making new signings this summer, perhaps only bested by Roberto De Zerbi over at Tottenham Hotspur. Real Madrid overhauled their defense to start the window, signing Ibrahima Konate, Denzel Dumfries, and Marc Cucurella as proven starters at the top level.
Many expected Real Madrid to sign a new top center midfielder thereafter, with Mourinho strongly advocating for Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez. But with the Blues driving a hard bargain for the Argentina star in the midst of another strong World Cup and new manager Xabi Alonso wanting Enzo to stay, Real backed off and even made a public statement disavowing any transfer interest in the player.
While this was happening, the fortunes of defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni began to change. Tchouameni started to look like fodder for a trade for Enzo, with Real Madrid hoping to get 90 million euros and make a slight profit on what they spent to sign the Frenchman from Monaco.
Jose Mourinho changes midfield outlook
However, Real Madrid have just pivoted, signing Tchouameni to a lucrative contract extension through the 2030/31 season, keeping a player in Madrid whom many have seen as a disappointment on the level of another transfer listed Frenchman at the Santiago Bernabeu, Eduardo Camavinga, in terms of failing to progress to that next level.
The call came from Jose Mourinho to keep Aurelien Tchouameni, as Fabrizio Romano reports that the Portuguese manager specifically asked for Tchou to stay. It is a surprising about face, given many Madridistas were under the impression from the Spanish media that Mourinho wanted a new, better midfielder, even looking at Mateus Fernandes (now of Tottenham Hotspur) as an option.
Real Madrid were linked to so many Premier League center midfielders, yet Tchouameni will stay, and that means Mourinho must see the potential that Tchou has. And it is honestly very true that at his best, Tchouameni is better and cheaper, for Real at least, than the other players the club could potentially buy to replace him as the No. 6.
Tchouameni will have to fight even harder for the badge and play better next season, but Florentino Perez hired Mourinho for a reason; he believes that a lot of the stars at Real Madrid, not just Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, will benefit greatly from the lion that is Mourinho in the manager's dugout. And he has now decided he is all in on Tchouameni.
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