Manchester United's Interest in Aurelien Tchouameni Grows Amid Real Madrid's Price Tag
Manchester United have been handed a sliver of encouragement in their long-standing admiration for Aurelien Tchouameni – and the price being whispered would have sounded unthinkable a year ago.
A report in England claims Real Madrid are willing to listen to offers of around £68 million for the France international, a fee that would place him well below the eye-watering sums currently being thrown around for elite midfielders.
This comes against the backdrop of Fabrizio Romano’s revelation earlier this month that Tchouameni has agreed a new deal at the Bernabeu running to 2031. Madrid have yet to formally announce that contract, a delay that has fuelled the sense that, under the right circumstances, the European champions could still cash in.
‘They could still sell him’
Manchester United reporter Andy Mitten lifted the lid on the uncertainty during an appearance on Talk of the Devils on July 14. Mitten explained that, after Tchouameni agreed his new terms, he checked in with a contact in Madrid.
“Them: ‘They could still sell him’,” Mitten relayed. “So, there you go. ‘They could still sell him. I will try to find out’.”
The message was clear enough. Tchouameni has been rewarded, United’s interest has not gone unnoticed, and the situation is not as closed as a long contract might suggest.
“This isn’t the first time that this has happened, where a Real Madrid player has benefitted from Manchester United’s interest,” Mitten said. United liked what they saw in Tchouameni – “because he’s very good” – but Mitten stressed that the midfielder is “perfectly happy in Madrid”.
If that changes? “He would be perfectly happy to play for Manchester United,” Mitten added.
Mitten’s calls last week, this time to journalists following the Spanish national team in the United States, painted a broader picture. Madrid, he was told, want to “buy big”, and to do that they “need to sell big”.
So the question in the Bernabeu boardroom is a simple one: who brings in serious money?
Fede Valverde has been told he is in line to be captain. “If you don’t want to be, mate, you can come to Old Trafford as well,” Mitten joked. Eduardo Camavinga, he was told, would not command the same level of fee. That leaves Tchouameni in a delicate, if powerful, position.
Mitten never pretended this was likely. Asked directly if a deal could happen, he replied: “It looks improbable. I think it always looked improbable. I think the chance comes if Real Madrid decide that they want to sell one of their very best players because they need money, and money dictates a lot of things in football.”
Mourinho’s Madrid ready to cash in?
Into that context stepped The Sun on Thursday with a bolder claim: Madrid are prepared to sell Tchouameni to United this summer.
The British outlet reported that new Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho had initially planned to keep the 24-year-old, but that the club are now “prepared to cash in for the right fee”. The follow-up story went further, stating that the “right fee” has been set at £68m.
The headline spelled out the logic from Madrid’s side: ‘Real Madrid willing to sell Aurelien Tchouameni to Man Utd in £68m deal in order to fund ambitious Rodri transfer’.
According to the report, Mourinho “is ready to sell” the Frenchman so that Madrid can launch an audacious move for Manchester City’s midfield fulcrum Rodri, valued at around £85m. It would be a dramatic reshaping of the European champions’ midfield, and a staggering show of ambition if they attempt to prise one of Pep Guardiola’s most important players out of the Etihad.
The sporting risk for Madrid is obvious. Tchouameni is currently the only senior, specialist defensive midfielder in their squad. Offloading him would rip out the one pure anchor in a group otherwise built on versatility and attacking instincts. That is why the suggestion that they are open to selling him – and at this price – has raised eyebrows across Europe.
A bargain in a warped market
The number itself is the real jolt. £68m for a 24-year-old who has already won LaLiga and the Champions League with Madrid and has just agreed a long-term deal would be striking in any window.
In this one, it looks like a steal.
Mateus Fernandes has moved for £85m. Sandro Tonali commanded £100m. Elliot Anderson went for £116m. Against that backdrop, a proven Real Madrid starter at £68m looks like a market anomaly.
For United, still trying to rebuild their midfield into something that can control games at the highest level, that sort of opportunity rarely comes along. The question is whether it truly exists in the way these reports suggest – and whether Madrid, with money to raise and big dreams to chase, are really ready to let their only natural holding midfielder walk away.
