\t\t\t8<\/i><\/p>\n
Manchester United\u2019s pursuit of Aur\u00e9lien Tchouam\u00e9ni has been reignited after a major U-turn by Real Madrid on their midfield plans this summer, according to a bombshell new report.<\/p>\n
Bringing balance in midfield<\/h5>\n
While \u00a385 million has already been spent on two midfielders \u2013 Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans \u2013 the Red Devils remain intent on making a \u2018marquee\u2019 signing to replace Casemiro. The 34-year-old Brazilian, who has now sealed a free transfer to Inter Miami, was outstanding last season, despite his legs not being what they were during his heyday at the Santiago Bernab\u00e9u.<\/p>\n
Crucially, Casemiro functioned as the anchor in midfield, acting as the first line of defence with his size, strength and, most importantly, intelligence. Standing 6\u20191\u2033, he was also absolutely dominant in the air \u2013 in either box.<\/p>\n
Santos is considered a long-term successor to the five-time Champions League winner by figures within Brazilian football. Signed from Chelsea for a fee worth a potential \u00a350 million, the 22-year-old is able to play as a No.6 or No.8, with excellent first-time passing and work rate.<\/p>\n
But he is not the defensive midfielder Michael Carrick needs to bring balance to his side; the physical monster to provide a platform for Tielemans, Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes to shine further forward. And it is this profile which makes Aur\u00e9lien Tchouam\u00e9ni the \u201cdream target\u201d at Old Trafford, as Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed in May.<\/p>\n
Dream Target<\/h5>\n
Possessing a powerful 6\u20192\u2033 frame, the Real Madrid enforcer is widely considered one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe, having established himself as an integral player for both club and country. Crucially, Tchouam\u00e9ni has already taken the reins from Casemiro, with The Whites<\/em> having bought him from Ligue 1 side AS Monaco in the summer of 2022 in a deal worth potentially \u00a386 million \u2013 the same window where Manchester United signed Casemiro for \u00a370 million.<\/p>\n Six months later, the 26-year-old led France to the final of the World Cup, only to be undone by the genius of Lionel Messi. He followed this up with a Copa del Rey, before securing a La Liga and Champions League double a year later.<\/p>\n The Rouen native is also understood to be an excellent presence in the dressing room at the Bernab\u00e9u, even with a violent clash with Federico Valverde in May. The Uruguay international is said to have been the instigator, however.<\/p>\n Having long been on the radar at Old Trafford, United have held exploratory talks with Tchouam\u00e9ni\u2019s camp over the past few months to gauge the viability of a blockbuster move. There was understood to be quiet optimism that an unlikely deal could be struck, particularly as Madrid needed to make sales to fund their own summer signings.<\/p>\n However, the possible looked to have become the impossible when it was announced the Frenchman had given his green light to a contract extension. There was a sense his agents had utilised the interest from M16 to leverage a better deal for his client.<\/p>\n Yet, in another sharp twist to a saga which looks set to dominate the summer, a report relayed by The Peoples Person<\/em> yesterday claimed United remained hopeful of signing Tchouam\u00e9ni, even after the contract agreement, and had made a recent enquiry.<\/p>\n Now, The Sun<\/em> claims Madrid are \u201cwilling to sell\u201d their No.14, despite Jose Mourinho planning to make him a key part of his side. The Spanish giant are \u201cprepared to cash in for the right fee\u201d amid growing interest in Manchester City maestro Rodri.<\/p>\n \u201cReal Madrid are willing to sell Aur\u00e9lien Tchouam\u00e9ni to Manchester United. United have recently enquired about Tchouam\u00e9ni as they want a specialist defensive midfielder. Although reports claimed Tchouam\u00e9ni, 26, had agreed a contract extension with Madrid, there has been no formal announcement. Real have been linked with a move for Spain international Rodri, who was named the best player at the World Cup,\u201d the report states.<\/p>\n Well-placed sources in the Spanish capital contend United\u2019s interest is \u201cstrong\u201d now that Tchouam\u00e9ni\u2019s participation at the World Cup has ended. France finished fourth after losing the third-place playoff 6-4 to England.<\/p>\n If there is even the hint of a possibility Manchester United can strike a deal for Tchouam\u00e9ni, INEOS must grab it with both hands, though it will depend on Manchester City\u2019s decision on the Rodri\u2019s future. Real Madrid would only sanction a departure if a replacement was lined up. <\/p>\n The Frenchman is the perfect profile to complete the midfield rebuild, with Carrick understood to be pushing for a third signing after Tielemans and Santos. The price will undoubtedly be expensive; his wages even more so. But there are so few elite No.6s at present, with even fewer available on the market, as the record-breaking deals for Elliot Anderson and Sandro Tonali prove. <\/p>\n Scarcity drives demand and demand drives price. INEOS must should pay up for Tchouam\u00e9ni, as there is no one else worth spending that type of money on. It is better to overpay on the right target than not spend at all. <\/p>\n Featured image Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey via Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n The Peoples Person has been one of the world\u2019s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social<\/p>\n <\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 8 Manchester United\u2019s pursuit of Aur\u00e9lien Tchouam\u00e9ni has been reignited after a major U-turn by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2524,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chelsea"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/playball.com.ng\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Aurelien Tchouameni Stats: 2025\/26 Season<\/h2>\n
\n\n
\n \nCompetition<\/th>\n Appearances<\/th>\n Starts<\/th>\n Goals<\/th>\n Assists<\/th>\n Yellow Cards<\/th>\n Red Cards<\/th>\n Minutes Played<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n The League<\/td>\n 33<\/td>\n 31<\/td>\n 1<\/td>\n –<\/td>\n 8<\/td>\n –<\/td>\n 2,623′<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n UEFA Champions League<\/td>\n 13<\/td>\n 13<\/td>\n 1<\/td>\n 1<\/td>\n 3<\/td>\n –<\/td>\n 1,125′<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Super Cup<\/td>\n 2<\/td>\n 2<\/td>\n –<\/td>\n –<\/td>\n –<\/td>\n –<\/td>\n 180′<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n \nKing’s Cup<\/td>\n 1<\/td>\n 0<\/td>\n –<\/td>\n 1<\/td>\n –<\/td>\n –<\/td>\n 13′<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n \n Total<\/th>\n 49<\/th>\n 46<\/th>\n 2<\/th>\n 2<\/th>\n 11<\/th>\n –<\/th>\n 3,941′<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tfoot>\n<\/table>\n
\nSource: Transfermarkt.<\/em><\/p>\nFinal Thoughts<\/h5>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/thepeoplesperson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/affiliate-christmas-campaign-25-1500x300-en-uk-min.png\")
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