Real Madrid star defensive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni has been under a microscope since joining the club in 2022 as the Casemiro replacement after the Royal Whites won the Champions League title.
But Tchouameni has been a success on his 80 million euro price tag, winning a Champions League crown of his own in 2023/24 as a crucial starter, including playing some important games as a center back amidst a serious injury crisis at the position.
This season, Tchouameni is settling down and playing the best football of his life under new manager Alvaro Arbeloa, but that doesn’t mean his future as a starter is 100 percent secure.
Enzo Fernandez dreams of Real Madrid
Real Madrid are being linked with another deep lying playmaking midfielder in Chelsea‘s controversial and high priced star Enzo Fernandez, who started the season brightly and has scored nearly 10 Premier League goals but has also been culpable in some tough losses.
Amidst rumors that he could be leaving this summer, talkSPORT’s Ben Jacobs reports that Fernandez’s dream move is indeed Real Madrid and that if the Royal Whites come calling, he is open to leaving.
Jacobs cautions that any Fernandez deal would be complicated. Chelsea are under no pressure to sell with his current contract and still hold all the cards as far as a departure goes.
Since Chelsea paid over 100 million euros to sign him from Benfica, it stands to reason that they will want nine figures for him in return, which is well over what Real Madrid paid for Tchouameni, who is a better player.
But if Enzo is willing to join Real Madrid and pushes hard enough, that could force Chelsea’s hand. And Florentino Perez loves to make splashes in the transfer market, especially if he has fallen in love with the former World Cup winner.
Aurelien Tchouameni has worked hard to nail down his role as the starting No. 6, but even if he and Enzo can co exist and even if he would be the preferred starter to the current Chelsea player, a transfer for Enzo would still cut into Tchou’s minutes and importance.
Even though Tchouameni is a great competitor and team player, in the back of his mind, as a Real Madrid star, he is hungry and wants to be important. He may be looking at these rumors for Fernandez and thinking to himself that this can’t be right. And it will give him even more hunger and motivation to prove himself as THE guy and a true superstar at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.