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Real Madrid have signed the highly rated France midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni from AS Monaco on a six-year contract, it has been announced.
The Champions League winners have agreed to pay a transfer fee of around €80 million to sign Tchouameni, 22, after seeing off competition from Liverpool to land the player.
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ESPN reported that Madrid and Monaco reached an agreement for the deal on Tuesday with the midfielder opting to join the Spanish champions over Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain.
Tchouameni is seen by Madrid as a potential long-term replacement for Casemiro, 30, and will form part of a new midfield generation at the Bernabeu alongside Federico Valverde (23) and Eduardo Camavinga (19).
Despite being turned down by top target Kylian Mbappe — who decided to sign a new three-year contract at PSG in a last-minute change of heart — Madrid have been busy preparing for this summer’s transfer window.
As well as Tchouameni, they have confirmed the signing of Germany defender Antonio Rudiger on a free transfer from Chelsea.
#WelcomeTchouaméni pic.twitter.com/QAxhUnSo7X
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) June 11, 2022
ESPN reported in January that Madrid were looking at options to rejuvenate their midfield, with Tchouameni the outstanding candidate. Madrid’s chief scout Juni Calafat visited Monaco that month to lay the groundwork for a possible deal.
While Madrid had reached an agreement with the player, their deal with Monaco was held up by Spain’s classification of the Principality of Monaco as a tax haven, meaning the Ligue 1 club would have to pay 24% tax on their profits from the transfer.
Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti wanted the club to sign a new defensive midfielder as a priority and Tchouameni was the main candidate ahead of Ajax‘s Ryan Gravenberch.
Los Blancos want to refresh their midfield and believe the young Frenchman has everything “to become the defensive midfielder of the future.”
Tchouameni made 35 league appearances for Monaco last season, scoring three goals as they finished third in the table behind PSG and Marseille.
He has already played 10 times for France and was named by manager Didier Deschamps in the squad for this month’s Nations League games with Denmark, Croatia and Austria.