Last summer, Real Madrid decided to go all in for French midfielder Aurélien Tchouaméni. Los Blancos’ interest in the Frenchman was concrete since the beginning of 2022, but it was not a given that they will go for him.
Why? The reason is that Kylian Mbappé was the main focus of the summer and his signing would have taken significant money out of Real Madrid’s budget for the summer transfer window.
Fast forward to May, Kylian Mbappé decided to extend his contract and leave Real Madrid with an option to go for a big signing.
You guessed it, Tchouaméni was the chosen one. Immediately after Kylian Mbappé’s announcement emerged, ‘MARCA’ published that Real Madrid will now go all in for Tchouaméni as the priority signing, and they ended up achieving it.
With that being said, let’s now talk about how Tchouaméni has fared at Real Madrid in his first (still not completed) season.
Tchouaméni’s displays until the World Cup arrived were very good, the player showed why Real Madrid spent big money on him with displays that made Madridistas forget Casemiro’s departure. Aurélien went to the World Cup as a guaranteed starter in Real Madrid’s team and Carlo Ancelotti’s go to man for the #6 position.
Tchouaméni had a great World Cup, he scored an incredible goal against England and was fundamental to Les Bleus’ team reaching the final of the competition.
Then, the final arrived, the game ended in a draw which sent both nations to penalties to decide who will become the World Champion.
Tchouaméni’s turn came and the player ended up missing his penalty. The French NT lost and Argentina were named the World Champions.
It is safe to say that Aurélien’s confidence took a hit despite having a stellar campaign. The player went back to Madrid with confidence issues and also racked up injuries which made him lose his starting position. Ever since then, Tchouaméni has started in La Liga games but never in the Champions League knockout stages or even in ‘big games’. Aurélien will have to fight to retain his spot again and it’s something that, personally, I’m sure he will achieve.
It’s worth noting that this is Aurélien’s first season as a lone 6, the player used to play in a double pivot at Monaco forming a great partnership with Youssouf Fofana.
Tchouaméni is in a transition phase, he is getting used to playing as a lone #6 and in a club like Real Madrid, the pressure is even higher. He is on his way to become more defined as a lone #6 and will show us what he’s capable of.
Aurélien Tchouaméni is a gem that Real Madrid fans have to be patient with and protect, we have one of the best upcoming #6’s in football. Next season will be different.
As Aurélien Tchouaméni himself usually says, ‘Trust the process’.