Aurélien Tchouaméni is going to disappear from Real Madrid's starting midfield. Carlo Ancelotti has had enough of waiting and the club is looking for a new destination for him.
A Younger Replica of Casemiro
He arrived at Real Madrid to be a replica of Casemiro, eight years younger. He never lived up to expectations, however, despite the club paying 80 million euros in fixed terms and 20 million in variables for him.
Tchouaméni has already played 103 games for Real Madrid in two and a half seasons, with 3 goals and 5 assists. This is of course a very poor record for a midfielder of the white team.
Real Madrid Puts Him Up for Sale for 80 Million
Now Florentino Pérez is putting him on the market for 80 million euros. Ancelotti has stopped trusting him as a midfielder, as OK Diario points out. From now on he will play as a center-back or he won't play at all.
Ancelotti sees Tchouaméni as one of the reasons for Real Madrid's slump in performance this season. He is determined to implement solutions, since the French international can only be useful as a center-back.
It will be either that or nothing. When Tchouaméni returns to action in a month's time after recovering from his injury, his life will change. He will find the path to his former position as a midfielder shut down.
Ancelotti will not count on him for the Champions League clash against Liverpool, but he will for the match against Atalanta in the same competition. By then, he will be playing center-back.
Ancelotti wants to take advantage of the French international's defensive virtues to deal with the precarious situation the team has entered with the injuries of Carvajal and Militão.
Tchouaméni Doesn't Like Playing as a Center-Back
He will not return to his old position as a midfielder, which requires more at Real Madrid than destroying the opponent's game.
Last season, Carlo Ancelotti admitted that the player doesn't like playing as a center-back, but he will have to accept that. The demands of Real Madrid have surpassed him.
"He will get angry, but he is a spectacular center-back. He plays very well, he brings the ball out from the back like few others and he is very good tactically. He is lucky that he can play in two positions: pivot and center-back," the coach said at the time.
He already played in that position last year in important matches, such as the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City.
His Future is Far from Bernabéu
Right now Ancelotti only has Rüdiger as a natural center-back, and Vallejo, on whom he doesn't count at all. The Italian coach even put Carvajal in that position once rather than resorting to Vallejo.
Waiting for confirmation of David Alaba's return in the coming weeks, Ancelotti will have to do with Rüdiger, Tchouaméni and Asencio. Only three players for the two positions in the center of defense.
Tchouaméni's problem is that next season the club will be reinforcing the center-back position and he won't fit in there either. His future is far from Bernabéu.