Real Madrid have invested significantly in midfield reinforcements in the last 12 months, with the Spanish giants keeping one eye on the distant future.
On Tuesday, football correspondent David Ornstein revealed Real Madrid had reached an agreement with AS Monaco for French midfielder Aurélien Tchouameni. The package is reportedly worth a nine-figure sum and Real are believed to be paying €80million upfront for the 22-year-old French international, with add-ons pushing the fee in excess of €100m.
🚨 EXCL: Real Madrid have reached verbal agreement with Monaco to sign France midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni in package worth over €100m. Clubs finalising paperwork + regulatory process before signing & official confirmation @TheAthleticUK #RMFC #ASmonaco https://t.co/QtFyvFNZSt
— David Ornstein (@David_Ornstein) June 7, 2022
Tchouameni becomes Real’s second summer signing after the arrival of defender Antonio Rüdiger on a free transfer from Chelsea. Los Blancos were optimistic of landing Kylian Mbappé also on a free transfer but the Frenchman rebuffed Madrid in favour of a new three-year deal with Paris St-Germain.
Real have recruited two young midfielders from France in as many years after Tchouameni’s national teammate Eduardo Camavinga, 19, signed at the Santiago Bernabéu last summer. Real paid €30m for Camavinga, with less than a year remaining on his contract with Stade Rennais at the time.
To date, Tchouameni and Camavinga have earned nine caps apiece for Les Bleus but the duo may struggle to nail down a place in the French starting XI with a couple of more experienced options (namely N’Golo Kante and Paul Pogba) higher up the pecking order, while Corentin Tolisso, Adrien Rabiot and Boubacar Kamara are also in the fray.
(Photo by Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)
Madrid’s new-look midfield will gradually begin taking shape in the coming seasons, as the current mainstay edges towards the back end of its lifespan. All three components of Real’s present midfield trio are into their 30s and closer to the end than the beginning of their respective playing careers.
Luka Modrić, 36, and Toni Kroos, 32, remain two of the finest midfielders in world football, both individually and as a pairing, and there is no doubting their qualities are among the best on offer. With that being said they are not getting any younger and their pace and stamina has already begun diminishing.
(Photo by Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP via Getty Images)
In their UEFA Champions League semifinal first leg, Real could not cope with the wit, grit and intensity of Manchester City’s midfield. Rodri pulled the strings in the centre of the park meanwhile the outstanding Kevin De Bruyne and the energetic Bernardo Silva totally overwhelmed an isolated Kroos. Real were devoid of a natural midfield enforcer with Casemiro only named on the bench for this particular tie.
Modrić has penned a one-year extension with Madrid, and he and Kroos will both be out of contract in June, 2023, while Casemiro has another three years on his deal at the Bernabéu. Kroos and Modrić cost Real a combined €60million – almost half the amount they splashed out on Camavinga and Tchouameni.
Modrić and Kroos were aged 26 and 24, respectively, when they signed for Real in 2012 and 2014. Casemiro was 21 years-old when he switched from São Paulo for €6m in 2013.
Florentino Pérez 👕 @lukamodric10 #RealMadrid | #Modrić2023 pic.twitter.com/DOpnycd21J
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) June 8, 2022
Federico Valverde has staked his claim for a regular starting spot in midfield, although many a time did Carlo Ancelotti deploy the Uruguay man down the right flank last term. Valverde featured 46 times for Real this past season, making eight starts in their triumphant Champions League campaign, and he has emerged as a bona fide stronghold in the Los Blancos setup.
Valverde completed a transfer from Peñarol to Real Madrid Castilla, on his 18th birthday, for a humble transfer fee of €5million. He emerged through the ranks and made his first-team debut in December 2018 after earning a maiden international cap aged 19 whilst out on loan at Deportiva La Coruña.
Now with five years of regular LaLiga football under his belt, Valverde is primed and ready to be utilized as one of Real’s first-choice midfielders in the short- and long-term future.
This writer has an inkling that Real Madrid and Zinédine Zidane have unfinished business, and should the ex-Galactico take over at the Santiago Bernabéu for a third time, he would undoubtedly look to extract the bucket loads of potential in his compatriots Camavinga and Tchouameni over the years to come.
