Aurelien Tchouameni: Why Real Madrid are willing to overpay for €100m Monaco midfielder
Neel Shelat
- 11 Jun 2022 13:42 BST
- 5 min read
Real Madrid have made Aurelien Tchouameni football's latest €100 million star thanks to the completion of a transfer from Monaco on 11 June.
It ranks as one of the biggest deals of all time, while it is the second-biggest transfer in history involving a player who has not featured for a single minute of Champions League football.
Only Manchester City have spent more on such a comparatively inexperienced player when they signed Jack Grealish from Aston Villa in 2021 - but he at least had big tournament experience with England behind him. Tchouameni has no such fallback, though he has at least played a handful of internationals.
Aurelien Tchoumeni has become the second most expensive player ever who has not played a minute of Champions League football*.
Man City's purchase of Jack Grealish in 2021 is the only one that surpasses this deal.
*not including qualifiers. pic.twitter.com/htskH5CjUw— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) June 11, 2022
FootballTransfers’ algorithm gives the France midfielder a top value of €34m, well below the price that Los Blancos are set to pay for the 22-year-old.
It should, however, be noted that this figure is slightly conservative due to his relative lack of experience at the most elite levels of European football. Either way, a €100m transfer fee certainly appears to be excessive for Tchouameni, but why might Real Madrid be willing to spend so lavishly on him?
He is widely regarded as one of the most talented defensive midfielders in world football presently as he has spent two seasons playing a key role in one of the top sides in Ligue 1. Prior to joining Monaco in January 2020, the young Frenchman was at Bordeaux, where he had also spent most of his youth career.
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Aurelien Tchouameni's role
Let us first briefly understand Tchouameni’s style of play. His position may loosely be described as a defensive midfielder, while our model believes his best roles to be those of a deep-lying playmaker or holding midfielder, although he can also serve as a very good box-to-box midfielder or ball-winning midfielder.
At Monaco this season, he has spent most of his time starting on the left of a two-man midfield in a variety of formations such as a 4-2-3-1, 4-4-2 and 3-4-3. Occasionally under new manager Philippe Clement, the principality side have used a 4-1-4-1 shape, where Tchouameni has primarily been asked to play as the lone defensive midfielder.
Even when playing with just one team-mate in central midfield, the French international usually took on a more central position in possession as his partner (usually Youssouf Fofana) was asked to play a more box-to-box role and had greater freedom to get forward.
Therefore, Tchouameni’s heatmap from the season looks reminiscent of that of a lone defensive midfielder, although there is a slight left-side bias visible.
As one might imagine given the variety of roles he can fulfil, Tchouameni’s statistics look very impressive in all aspects.
The thing that stands out most is Tchouameni’s defensive output. His relatively low number of pressures can be explained by the fact that he operates in a deeper role, but he is an incredibly high-volume ball winner and also very strong in the air. This is partly down to the fact that stopping opposition counterattacks has been one of his key responsibilities at Monaco, but the fact that he has been able to fulfil it is entirely down to his quality.
In fact, he made more interceptions than any other player in Ligue 1 in the 2021/22 season and was second in terms of tackles made. His heatmap of defensive actions shows his ability to win the ball all over the field.
The French international is also very good on the ball. He tends to get involved in all phases of possession, and his progressive passing is key for Monaco’s build-ups. There is a clear pattern visible here, as most of these passes are down the left side of the pitch.
At Monaco, this was due to the fact that their tactical set-up allowed the left-back to get a lot further forward than the right-back and the left-winger often tucked into a central position, so there were more passing options there. This trend should continue for Tchouameni in Madrid, as the deadly duo of Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior conduct the majority of their operations on the left side.
Keeping the skillset required for a defensive midfielder in mind, there are no glaring weaknesses in Tchouameni’s game. He is superb out of possession and can be a high-volume ball winner, while also playing a key role when his team has the ball in progressing it forward.
Why Real Madrid are spending €100m
His €100m price tag still seems lofty for a player untested at the highest level, so why are Real Madrid willing to splurge on him?
Firstly, he completes their midfield succession plan. Their current trio of Luka Modrić, Casemiro and Toni Kroos are all on the wrong side of 30, so they will gradually need to be replaced. In Eduardo Camavinga and Federico Valverde, Los Blancos have done two thirds of their work, but they needed a defensive midfielder to succeed Casemiro, and Tchouameni’s seems to be just that.
Additionally, this inflated transfer fee means that Real Madrid have ensured no other side will try to hijack this deal. Liverpool and PSG, for instance, are looking elsewhere.
Finally, Real want this deal to be a blockbuster move to put the failure of the Kylian Mbappe saga behind them. Signing a highly rated France international will do that – and they have funds to spare thanks to the budget put aside for the PSG attacker.
Real Madrid are overpaying for Tchouameni, but they have good reason. On paper, he is the perfect fit, so this transfer is a calculated gamble Los Blancos hope will be a winner.
