Manchester United would reportedly have the upper hand should Real Madrid decide to place Aurelien Tchouameni on the transfer list.
The Red Devils have parted ways with Casemiro after four years of service, leaving a massive gap in the middle of the park.
The Premier League giants have effectively recruited Ederson from Atalanta, but the latter is considered more of a box-to-box midfielder than a natural No.6, so United still need to sign a more natural replacement for the 34-year-old Brazilian.
Man United will be ahead of the queue for Aurelien Tchouameni
While Man Utd continue to pursue Mateus Fernandes, they are keeping tabs on other profiles, as they realise that securing an agreement with West Ham remains a daunting task, as the Hammers continue to ask for £80 million to release the young Portuguese.
One of the more popular tracks leads to Tchouameni, whose future at Real Madrid is anything but certain, especially following his unsavoury training-ground fist fight with his teammate Federico Valverde.
Many observers believe the two midfielders can no longer co-exist in the same dressing room, and the French international is more likely to depart than the Uruguayan.
According to Carrington insider Sully, Tchouameni has yet to be placed on the transfer list. However, if Los Merengues were to excommunicate him, Man Utd would be the frontrunners to sign him.
“On Tchouameni: I won’t dwell on it too much, as there hasn’t been any major movement, but the report that came out saying we spoke to his agents before the Valverde incident is true,” wrote the journalist while answering fans’ questions on RoundTable.
“I was told that Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox had a meeting with his agent. The word I am getting internally is that if he becomes available for whatever reason, United will be at the front of the queue.”
Why Tchouameni is the perfect profile to replace Casemiro
When searching for a player capable of filling in for Casemiro, Tchouameni stands out as the most obvious choice, given how Real Madrid handed him the exact same task in 2022. The Frenchman was brought in to replace the Brazilian, who was sold to United that summer.
Although the 26-year-old hasn’t found the same level of success as Casemiro at the Bernabeu, he still lifted a Champions League trophy, a Spanish league title and a couple of UEFA Super Cups, among other honours.
More importantly, the metrics below mark him as a like-for-like replacement for the Inter Miami-bound veteran.
Percentiles Duel% Poss won Prog carries Fwd passes Fwd pass% Key passes Prog passes Minutes
75.7 100.0 11.1 90.0 34.7 54.0 84.3 2776
A. Tchouaméni 97.2 76.6 27.6 95.8 98.9 33.3 89.3 2854
(Stats by DataMB)
While their numbers are pretty similar in most areas, Tchouameni has a clear advantage when it comes to progressive passing, suggesting that Michael Carrick wouldn’t only find a new defensive shield in the former Monaco star but also a deep-lying midfielder capable of adding geometry to the team and massively improving the possession phase.
The Rouen native still has two years left on his contract with Madrid, and his estimated price tag is around £60 million.
Michel is a football journalist based in Beirut who has been passionately following Man United for over 20 years. He is a Law graduate and a member of the Beirut Bar Association. In addition to writing for Utd Report, he is also the Head Writer for The Laziali has been a Featured Writer on other websites including Juve FC, and The Cult of Calcio, and Stretty News.
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