Man Utd are closing in on £100m transfer move for ‘word-class’ midfielder

Tchouameni to Manchester United: INEOS set to smash £100m barrier for Real Madrid star

Tchouameni to Manchester United: Manchester United are ready to blow past the €100m (£85m) limit they set during the Mateus Fernandes saga. The identity of their new target makes this the most compelling story of the summer window. Aurélien Tchouaméni. The Real Madrid anchor has been quietly admired at Old Trafford for years. Now, he is suddenly deemed attainable. At least, that is the theory being floated in Manchester. Whether INEOS can actually pull off a deal of this magnitude is a completely different matter.

Reports from Goal, referencing Fabrizio Romano’s YouTube channel, position the Frenchman as United’s absolute priority in central midfield. The noise coming out of Carrington suggests this is far more than idle flattery.

United turned their attention to Tchouameni after missing out on a trio of primary targets. Elliot Anderson went to Manchester City for a British-record €135m, while both Fernandes and Sandro Tonali opted for Tottenham. The Fernandes miss stung. United refused to guarantee more than £80m of the £85m fee, trying to push the final £5m into performance bonuses. Spurs simply paid the fully guaranteed package and walked away with the player. Lesson learned.

Tchouameni has won La Liga, the Champions League, and the Copa del Rey since moving to Spain. At 26, he is comfortably one of the elite defensive midfielders in Europe. His domestic campaign featured 33 appearances and 2,624 minutes, yielding a single goal and a 7.37 FotMob rating. He added another goal and an assist across 13 Champions League starts. Consistent. Efficient. Exactly what United need to replace a rapidly declining Casemiro.

The two massive obstacles blocking a deal

Romano was clear on the club’s internal stance, stating that United view Tchouameni as the perfect replacement for Casemiro due to his elite mentality and world-class ability. Wanting a player is easy. Paying for him is where negotiations usually stall.

INEOS have put a five-year contract on the table. Crucially, Tchouameni hasn’t rejected it. But his current salary at the Bernabeu is massive. Romano confirmed that United have told the player’s camp that a move to Old Trafford requires a compromise on those wage demands.

Then there is Real Madrid itself. New boss Jose Mourinho wants to keep the Frenchman, who happens to be the only senior, natural defensive midfielder in the squad. With a contract running until 2028, Madrid hold all the leverage. Tchouameni won’t make a definitive decision while France are still alive in the World Cup, with a quarter-final clash against Morocco looming. United are stuck in a holding pattern.

Read: Man Utd plotting transfer raid for £43m Bundesliga defender

“What I have always said, and what I also maintain today, is that internally at Manchester United, Tchouameni has always been seen as the perfect signing for midfield. Top player, elite mentality, world-class, so they consider Tchouameni as the perfect replacement for Casemiro.

“The first one is the salary. Tchouameni is on a very big salary at Real Madrid, and at the moment, the understanding is that Manchester United have already made it clear to those close to Tchouameni in the contacts they had over the recent months that the only way for Tchouameni to go eventually to Man Utd is on a different salary. And so, that’s the first issue.”