Tchouameni shows Rice what a €100m midfielder looks like

Carlo Garganese

• Updated: 11 Dec 2022 21:25 GMT
• 6 min read

Aurelien Tchouameni’s thunderbolt of a goal against France on Saturday was clocked at an astonishing 108km per hour.

That moment of world class brilliance underlined why many believe that Tchouameni will be the world’s premier number six of the current and next generation.

At the age of just 22, Tchouameni already plays like a world-class veteran - only with the physical qualities of the youngster that he is.

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In the build-up to France’s 2-1 World Cup quarter-final win over England, much was said about the battle between the two sixes - Tchouameni of France and Declan Rice of England.

In truth, Rice had a good game also. He made seven recoveries and three interceptions and showed all of his customary grit and determination.

There is no doubt that Rice is a very good player. He is excellent tactically, protects and screens the backline expertly, and reads opposition attacks and the spaces on the pitch.

But what separates Rice from the very elite central midfielders is that he lacks the technical and creative qualities, the moments of unbridled genius and generally the ability to run and dictate the game from the deep. His passing is too safe, his distribution and movements too readable and straight-lined at times. He also would never be able to shoot from long-range like Tchouameni did last night.

Some will say none of this is Rice’s job, that his job is to be a destroyer. And there may be an element of truth in that. But in modern football, you can’t only destroy, you must be able to create also. The days of specialist defensive-minded players - even at full-back - are over.

And this has traditionally always been England’s problem at centre midfield. They have always boasted excellent ball-winners and all-action box-to-box runners, but very rarely ball-players, conductors and playmakers. It is the latter type of player that generally win you World Cups and European Championships.

Tchouameni has shown himself to be elite as a holding midfielder, but also that he possesses that X-factor to make the difference the other way.

Everything in this World Cup has come through him in midfield and only five midfielders have touched the ball more times than him in Qatar.

Praise for Tchouameni

Unlike Rice, who is more admired in English football circles than globally, Tchouameni is almost universally acclaimed.

Tchouameni’s former coach at Monaco, Niko Kovac, has labelled Tchouameni the “best player in the world in his position.”

“He’s someone who, as a young player, thought he had to do everything,” Kovac explained on Sunday.

“And then he understood that he had to focus on his main job as a number ‘six’. That’s why he was so expensive and that’s why he ended up at Real. He’s the best in his position, you can see that from the data.”

Tchouameni, along with Kylian Mbappe and perhaps Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann, has arguably become France’s most irreplaceable player at this World Cup.

He has played more minutes than anyone else in the France squad (411), with coach Didier Deschamps knowing just how important he is given the absence in Qatar of first-choice midfielders Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante.

The scary thing is Tchouameni is nowhere near his ceiling yet. The penalty he conceded against England showed that he can still sometimes try to do too much. He knows he has a lot of responsibility on his shoulders and that as he is playing in a midfield two with Adrien Rabiot, he will be outnumbered in the middle of the park often. But like Kante, he can do the job of two men on his own.

Mbappe a fan of Tchouameni

Mbappe is known to be a huge fan of Tchouameni and regularly praises his international teammate. He attempted to convince Tchouameni to join PSG this summer but Tchouameni opted for Real Madrid.

He has been a revelation, playing in all but two of Madrid’s games this season.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was so immediately impressed by Tchouameni after his arrival that he sanctioned the sale of Casemiro to Man Utd in the closing days of the summer transfer window, having initially wanted to keep both. Remember, Casemiro had been arguably the most consistent ball-winning midfielder in the world over the last half-decade.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is also said to consider Tchouameni as the best on the planet as a number 6. Klopp called Tchouameni numerous times to try and convince him to join Liverpool before his Madrid move.

Tchouameni joined Real Madrid for a fee that eventually will reach €100m. Rice has been quoted higher than that when he does leave West Ham, as high as €150m by some.

Only one of these two sixes has shown himself to be worth three figures - and that is Tchouameni.