Aurelien Tchouameni looks to have left the door open to a move to Chelsea, despite Real Madrid emerging as the likely destination for the 22-year-old this summer. He's been heavily linked with an exit from AS Monaco for some time now, with the Blues among the first top-flight sides to have registered interest in the midfielder.
football.london understand that Chelsea have spent more time watching Tchouameni than any other club, following strong interest at the start of the season. Thomas Tuchel's side opted against signing the youngster in the summer because the club felt as if he could have done with another 12 months of development, as per The Athletic.
The France international has since featured 50 times for Monaco this season, directly contributing toward eight goals from the heart of midfield. His impressive displays steered the club to within touching distance of Champions League qualification, though they fell at the final hurdle on the last day of the Ligue 1 season.
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Tchouameni has continued to be linked with a move to Stamford Bridge this season, though the UK Government's decision to sanction Roman Abramovich led to the club having to operate under a special sporting licence which restricted their activities in the transfer market.
Having seemingly missed the boat, the Monaco midfielder has decided to sign a five-year contract with Real Madrid in a deal worth £69million plus bonuses, according to French outlet RMC last month. Carlo Ancelotti's side reacted quickly after Kylian Mbappe opted against pursuing a dream move to the Santiago Bernabeu and chose to commit his future to Paris Saint-Germain.
Though, while Tchouameni may already have a foot in the door at Los Blancos, Goal has claimed that there is currently no agreement between the Spanish giants and the Frenchman. And, as a result, Chelsea have a window of opportunity to snatch the midfielder from under Real Madrid's nose.
After a quiet week or so on the transfer rumour mill regarding his future, Tchouameni has finally spoken out. In an interview with French television broadcaster Telefoot, he was asked whether he has decided where his future lies. The midfielder replied: "Not yet."
In the meantime, Chelsea have been told by Monaco chief Paul Mitchell of the criteria that the club must fulfil in order to sign Tchouameni. The French outfit's transfer guru outlined that the club will demand a 'fair compensation' for 'such an incredibly gifted player'.
Speaking to RMC Sport, the transfer chief said: "I don't have a preference, to be honest. As always when you sell a player, there needs to be fair compensation.
"The market is different every year. Everyone was able to realize what a top player Aurelien is, but everyone also knows that we are an ambitious club with an ambitious shareholder, so no, I have no preference when it comes to selling him. We will have to be very aggressive in terms of supply for us to lose such an incredibly gifted player."
N'Golo Kante and Jorginho are both set to see their futures in west London come to a close next summer once their contracts expire. And, as a result, Tuchel is keen for a summer rebuild.
Speaking to football.london, the Chelsea boss outlined his intentions at the club in the coming weeks. Tuchel said: "We are rebuilding, not improving the squad. We are rebuilding. This is always challenging, but we are up for the challenge.
"I don't know where we are from day one. What I can promise is that I will be here – if I can promise that – I will be here with full energy and positive energy no matter what. We will still work for Chelsea, and I refuse to think of negative scenarios. We will be competitive, on which level we will see.
"On how the delay and sanctions will affect us, there is a risk. It will be very challenging to make up for the disadvantage, given the situation of the other two teams: City and Liverpool, who are already improving the squad and set one benchmark after the other in all aspects of the game."
