When last summer Kylian Mbappé decided at the last minute to slam the door on Florentino Pérez, a window opened in Chamartín. With their pockets full due to the frustrated signing of the Frenchman, Real Madrid refused to invest part of that money in a galactic. The commitment to youth in the white club prevailed again and the chosen one was Aurélien Tchouaméni, a footballer praised by the experts but semi-unknown to the general public.
The whites made the promising 22-year-old French midfielder the fourth most expensive signing in their history (80 million euros paid to Monaco, which could end up being 100) and he was not even enough to fill a vacant position. Like Vinícius, Fede Valverde, Rodrygo or Camavinga, the goal was to learn to take over from a legend like Casemiro sooner rather than later.
However, the unexpected departure of the Brazilian to Manchester United accelerated any adaptive process. Tchouaméni was the natural replacement and Carlo Ancelotti didn't even think about it. He gave him the keys to the medullary to accompany Kroos and Modric and his performance has surprised locals and strangers.
“Not everyone can play for Madrid or Barça. One can have the skills, but expressing them in a pressure environment like the Bernabeu or the Camp Nou is only within the reach of the chosen ones, ”says Robert Moreno, the coach who signed him as soon as he landed at Monaco at a rate of 18 million per his "ability to work" and "tactical intelligence to provide solutions with the ball".
“We had shortcomings in the midfield position and from the list of young talents that passed us, he and Youssouf Fofana were the ones that stood out the most. We signed both of them”, explains the Catalan, satisfied, even more so after seeing that in the last two friendlies in France they were a couple in the double pivot.
"He has shown in a big way the qualities that I knew him much faster than expected," says Gustavo Poyet overwhelmed. The current Greece coach was the one who gave him the opportunity to make his professional debut when he was in charge of Girondins de Bordeaux.
"Already at 18 years old, he stood out for his physical display, his intelligence and a professionalism unbecoming of his age," says the Uruguayan, who recalls the absence of his soccer player in some training sessions for wanting to finish his scientific high school. “He asked my permission to go take the exams. He really studied ”, assures Tchouaméni, a year younger than his friend Jules Koundé, with whom he coincided in the Girondins youth academy. Both will face each other tomorrow in the classic.
The two technicians highlight Tchouaméni's desire to learn in order to continue improving. “During the months that I was in Bordeaux I had meetings with more than 50 footballers... and I remember perfectly the talk with him. He was 100% focused on what he was telling him and what he wanted him to do on the field. At that moment, a carnival would have passed him by and he would not even have noticed, ”says Poyet.
“There are boys of African descent who, due to their parents' culture or the area they come from, when they grow up and have physical power like Tchouaméni's, they don't want to improve. Instead, he had the will to do it. He shows it the fact that he has a personal trainer that helps him”.
Robert Moreno is not referring to a physical trainer, but to the French psychologist Cédric Quignon-Fleuret, who has accompanied him since his time at Girondins. Tchouaméni works individually on the mental aspect before and after the games and tries to abstract himself from criticism so that his game is not affected. The result, for the moment, could not be more hopeful for the whites.
The game against Barça will be his first demanding test, a good day to assess the level of the team without Casemiro. “They are similar footballers because they play the same role, but with differences. Casemiro was better under short pressure, surrounded by players. Tchouaméni has a hard time turning around, a deficiency that he still has to work on. What he does have is a good start with the controlled ball. He also has a knack for making passes hitting lines. In addition, he occupies the spaces left by Kroos and Modric as Casemiro did, positioning himself close to Benzema to pin down rivals and find passing solutions”, explains the former Spanish coach.
Another difference is also in the punch, a pending account for Tchouaméni, compared to Pogba in his beginnings despite the fact that he started as a striker when he was a child. “He can play both 6 and 8. He has shown it with the French team. Depending on whether he had Pogba or Kante by his side, he played a different role. He prefers to play as a midfielder, like in Madrid," reveals Poyet.
Unlike Monaco or with the Blues, in Madrid he acts as an anchor alone, without another midfielder next to him. A position that requires a high defensive responsibility, especially in a football of increasingly faster transitions.
Taking a look at the eternal rival, still looking for a successor to the now discussed Sergio Busquets – contract ends at the end of the season – the two coaches agree that he is not a profile that fits Barça. “He is quite far from the model. I don't think it's the right context because of his difficulties when it comes to profiling himself, "says Moreno.
