Aurelien Tchouameni is set to join Real Madrid in a deal that will exceed $110 million.
According to The Athletic‘s sources, Tchouameni’s move is imminent, as the clubs are working to finalize paperwork before making a formal announcement regarding the transfer. The 22-year-old has been a target for many of Europe’s giants as of late. Real Madrid won the race, beating interest from Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, and Manchester United.
Tchouameni played 35 times in Ligue 1 during the last season, scoring three goals and assisting two. He also featured in 11 European games for Monaco. Over the past year, Tchouameni became a regular on the French national team as well, already collecting 10 caps since making his debut in September 2021.
Tchouameni joined Monaco from Bordeaux in January 2020.
Transfer market specialist Fabrizio Romano claims the midfielder told Monaco he wanted to play for Real Madrid, despite Paris Saint-Germain readying a superior financial package. Liverpool’s late attempt was met with the same reaction from the player, with Monaco deciding to respect his wish and grant him his dream transfer.
Signing Tchouameni will be Real Madrid’s first hit after winning the Champions League at the end of May. Madrid was close to signing Kylian Mbappe after months of negotiation, but the PSG star finally opted to stay at Parc des Princes and penned a new deal.
Is Leao Mbappe’s replacement?
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Real Madrid’s next target to reinforce the attack is AC Milan star forward Rafael Leao. Real is ready to pay $130 million to have him, but Milan insists the Portuguese player won’t leave unless his release clause of $160 million is met. Manchester City and PSG are also knocking on Milan’s door for Leao.
The fresh Italian champions want the 23-year-old to ignore external interest in him and extend his contract at San Siro until 2026.
Leao, who joined Milan from Lille in 2019, won the Serie A MVP award after leading his team to their first title in 11 years. Leao scored 14 goals and assisted another 12 in his 42 appearances in all competitions for Milan.