Real Madrid have been disappointments again this season, particularly in La Liga, where Barcelona have lapped them in the title race for a second straight season. Once Florentino Perez formally deposes Alvaro Arbeloa, he will be the third managerial casualty in a year, and, in all honesty, none of the three managers were principally at fault for the club's malaise.
Though conversations about how Kylian Mbappe has weakened the team can be had for hours, the most important changes over the last couple of years have been the big losses in the midfeld. Toni Kroos and Luka Modric were titans of the game, responsible for five Champions League titles, and Real Madrid have completely fallen apart in their leadership, control of games, and overall quality in the midfield without them.
There are a number of young stars at the club who are entering a crossroads in their career, but one player who may need to be spotlighted more for this is Aurelien Tchouameni. The starting Real Madrid No. 6 has been, at times, brilliant this season, but, at others, he has been outplayed by a Castilla product in Thiago Pitarch.
Aurelien Tchouameni will be under a microscope
Though the transfer links for Tchou to clubs like Liverpool and Manchester United are notable, not only are those clubs below the standard of Real Madrid, but the Merengues are also being linked to some big names at the No. 6 like Rodri, Enzo Fernandez, and Angelo Stiller.
For now, it does not seem that Real Madrid are contemplating the sale of Aurelien Tchouameni, but they are, rather, looking to supplement the Frenchman with another deep lying midfielder. But the unsaid truth about that is Florentino Perez is looking for an upgrade. Because if Real and Enzo are flirting, they are not going to pay for the Chelsea midfielder just to have him sit behind an underperforming player.
Because there is room for only one No. 6 at the Santiago Bernabeu. That is not just because that has always been the case for the club built around attacking firepower, but it's also because Real Madrid already have three indispensible, world class midfielders in need of minutes among Jude Bellingham, Fede Valverde, and breakout man Arda Guler.
Tchouameni has not been anywhere near the quality of these players. He has been, taken all together, more decent than great, if not average, even. Again, there are flashes of star power, but the once promising signing from Monaco has hit a point where Real Madrid, as with countryman Eduardo Camavinga, cannot be sure he is THE guy. And if they choose to spend big on a new midfielder, then Tchou could be the big casualty.
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