Chelsea have been told by AS Monaco transfer chief Paul Mitchell of the criteria that the club must fulfil in order to sign Aurelien Tchouameni. The 22-year-old, who has also courted the interest of Liverpool and Real Madrid ahead of the summer transfer window, has been heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge.
He featured 50 times for the French outfit this season, directly contributing towards eight goals from the heart of midfield. The France international's impressive displays steered Monaco within touching distance of Champions League qualification, though they fell at the final hurdle on the last day.
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 Frenchman in the summer because the club felt as if the midfielder could have done with another 12 months of development, as per The Athletic.
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The west Londoners have since paid the price for their naivety and reluctance to pull the trigger, with the Mirror reporting that Tchouameni has an agreement with Liverpool and Real Madrid ahead of the summer. Thus, the UK Government's decision to sanction Roman Abramovich has seen the Blues fall behind in the transfer race.
Reports claim that the youngster is interested in the prospect of a switch to the Premier League, though the Monaco technical director has since clarified that he has no preference as to which club Tchouameni joins, should he leave.
Mitchell outlined outlined that the French giants 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."
According to a report from Marca, via the Daily Mail, earlier this year, Monaco have set £83million for their prized asset.
