Tchouameni is Frances Bellingham it is why Real Madrid paid 100m for him

During the final games before French football shut down due to COVID-19 in spring 2020, 20-year-old Aurelien Tchouameni was on the Monaco bench, months after signing from Bordeaux for £16million ($19.6m). Unfavoured by the Monaco head coach Roberto Moreno, Tchouameni made only three substitute appearances in the second half of the campaign in the French top flight.

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Almost three years on, Tchouameni’s fortunes have changed dramatically — he has developed into one of the most sought-after midfielders in European football, spurning Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain before signing for Real Madrid in a deal worth over €100million for a six-year contract. He took the No 18 shirt, because it was closest to the No 8 still held by the German midfielder Toni Kroos, and Madrid felt sufficiently confident in Tchouameni’s potential that they let Casemiro leave for Manchester United.

At the World Cup in Qatar, Tchouameni has benefited from the absence of Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante to form a midfield three alongside Adrien Rabiot and Antoine Griezmann — a trio which will seek to rein in England’s likely midfield of Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson and Jude Bellingham when the teams meet on Saturday.

The battle between Tchouameni and Bellingham, who many believe will be the defining central midfielders of the next decade, is a particular source of excitement. Last summer’s transfer window was Tchouameni’s moment in the spotlight, and the summer of 2023 will be Bellingham’s turn.

In Madrid, they hope to bring the pair together, along with Eduardo Camavinga and Federico Valverde, in a midfield the Spanish side believe will dominate European football for years to come. Yet they face stiff competition from Premier League sides, with Liverpool among those sparring to sign Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund.

Liverpool previously did everything within their powers to sign Tchouameni, and the player had boiled down his options to Liverpool or Madrid, with every other option set aside. Yet, with Liverpool having made Monaco and Tchouameni’s representatives aware of their interest, and being absolutely willing to do a deal if the player had wanted the move, Tchouameni made clear that Madrid had become his preference.

Tchouameni’s attraction to Madrid grew stronger during their dramatic Champions League journey last season, which included success over PSG, Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool. Upon his unveiling, he said: “When I was watching the final against Liverpool there were already negotiations with Madrid and other teams, but it is true that when I saw (what happened against) PSG, Chelsea, (Manchester) City, I was messaging people saying: ‘Please do all you can to take me to Madrid. I can’t not go there’.”

Tchouameni’s fortunes began to change at Monaco when Moreno left the club and Niko Kovac arrived as head coach before kicking on further under Philippe Clement. Monaco reduced the average age of their squad to the second lowest in Ligue 1 by the end of last season, as well as introducing nine academy players to the first-team squad.

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Monaco became one of the most physically intense sides in European football. Under sporting director Paul Mitchell (formerly of Tottenham and RB Leipzig), as well as director of performance James Bunce (previously director high performance for US Soccer), Monaco recorded the third-highest figures across Europe’s top five leagues for distance covered, high-speed running and sprint distance during Tchouameni’s last season at the club. In a 3-0 victory over PSG in March, for example, Monaco recorded 26 per cent more high-speed runs than their opponents.

Monaco won nine and drew one of their final 10 league matches of the campaign to secure a Champions League qualifying position. The sequence heightened interest in Tchouameni; Monaco’s high-energy style proved to major clubs that he would have the physicality for the very highest level.

Bunce tells The Athletic: “As a 6ft 2in athlete, he has got real big presence, but then he also trained how he wanted to play and played exactly how he trained, which is aggressive, giving 100 per cent. Every tackle mattered, every sprint mattered, every duel mattered, every game we played five-vs-five he wanted to win. Every shot he wanted to score. Every challenge he wanted to win.”

Explaining the focus of Tchouameni’s training, Bunce said: “He was going through a regime dedicated to making him the most athletic No 6 in the world. When you talk about Liverpool, Madrid, teams like that who were interested in him, every football team in the world was interested in Aurelien, because not only was he a standout on the field, he basically had 100 per cent availability through the season, played two games a week consistently at a high level; consistency in his performance, consistency of his athleticism, consistency of his technical output, his duels won, his regains, his pressing, it was all there.

“So when you start doing what we do, which is analysis of players in his position, he was an outlier. He runs harder and faster than anyone in his position. When you look at his stats from games, he was regaining the most balls, winning the most duels. So it became, if you are a top club looking at the same information that we do when we recruit players, he just stood out because it was not just a one off — it was consistency, consistency, consistency.”

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Behind the scenes, staff loved working with Tchouameni. Every day he would go into the office of the performance and sport science experts, ask to see his data, checking whether he was in line with the planned progression and wanting to know the agenda for the next day. He has spoken of his admiration for the efforts of NBA icons Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan. Tchouameni said: “I watch videos of them, legends who got the best from themselves, who perfected their play. You can’t ever rest: you have to do everything, and that’s what I will do at Madrid.”

Bunce continues: “One of his biggest characteristics is his super high IQ, both football IQ but also intellectual intelligence. He’s a very serious detailed guy, who takes his profession extremely seriously, both on the pitch when he’s performing and off the pitch with how he looks after himself from a day-to-day perspective. He was always looking for more information, more support, areas to develop, taking on private chefs, taking video analysis, to support his development.

“So he has a natural talent, but again talent without hard work isn’t enough, so he worked every day trying to develop himself. Something you notice about him as soon as he steps across the white line, whether in training or a game, there was never really an off day. Off the field, he had great relationships, he was typically good fun, good jokes, a good team-mate. But as soon as he stepped across the white line, he knew it was business and I’ve seen that with a few players before but he had a high level of that.

“When he first joined Monaco before myself and Paul Mitchell arrived, he was mainly a substitute. But then obviously, in his first real season after COVID-19, he really pushed on and developed. It’s a lot about him, his winning mentality, his thirst to learn, to think deep and ask questions and absorb information. He never wanted to not be developing.”

Tchouameni’s all-round game is improving and he went back to see old friends at Monaco recently when he visited for the club’s match against Marseille. His former Monaco team-mate Cesc Fabregas says he will one day become a “complete midfielder”. Adding goals in his game might be the final piece in the puzzle, although it is less important if he operates as a No 6. He is yet to score for Madrid and scored only five times last season for Monaco.

For France, even with only 18 senior caps, his maturity is shining through and he has a 95 per cent pass accuracy during this tournament. He is fulfilling the potential that led him to be called up to represent his country from under-16 to under-21.

Bunce also praises his leadership credentials. “He’s not a screamer and shouter, he’s not the guy that will be in the centre of midfield constantly vocalising everything; that might be something he evolves as he builds his career and capabilities.

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“From a leadership perspective, he became one of the captains and part of the captains’ committee for us because of his exemplarity of training, embodying the culture we want to see of hard work, of doing everything you can every day.

“So like some captains, he does talk, he has a lot to say in trying to improve things, he will ask questions, he will challenge, but a lot of his leadership comes through exemplarity, by being that guy that will go into a battle and lead from the front.”

(Top photo: Christopher Lee via Getty Images)

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