Barcelona received negative reports on €100 million Real Madrid midfielder in 2018-2019: “Was not convinced”
Barcelona have been in the market to sign a defensive midfielder for as long as one can remember.
With Sergio Busquets getting older and his performances becoming inconsistent over the course of the last half-a-decade, the Catalans wanted to sign a replacement early, but under the regime of Josep Bartomeu, could not fulfill this goal despite having the money.
Cut to several years later, Barcelona, under a horrid financial situation, have gone on to replace their legendary pivot with Oriol Romeu, who cost €3.5 million.
Possibly the worst part about this is that over to the other side of the grass, Real Madrid have about four players who can and have played as single pivots and done a more than impressive job.
Eduardo Camavinga is among the most versatile midfielders in the world, and an excellent no. 6. Toni Kroos can easily fill in as the deepest midfielder courtesy of his playmaking abilities and volume passing, while Federico Valverde played in that role through his youth.
They also have arguably Aurelien Tchouameni in their ranks, who has arguably one of the biggest ceilings of any DM in the world right now.
The Frenchman has all the qualities of a top 6 as someone with great passing range, patience, positioning, strength, and an occasional cheeky long-distance shot, too.
Interestingly, though, it seems Barcelona were in for Tchouameni early on in his career, but did not end up signing him.
“When I worked at Barça, I made a negative report about Tchouameni,” Bojan Krkic’s father said, speaking in an interview relayed by SPORT. He was working as a scout for Barcelona then, and was sent to keep tabs on the now-Real Madrid star.
“He was pure power. He was playing with Bordeaux, and I saw him for three games. I watched him against Monaco, PSG, and Marseille. I highlighted good things, but what i did not like about him, what did not convince me, was his ability in tight spaces.”
He continued talking about Tchouameni’s ability in tight areas and under pressure, saying, “At Bordeaux, you have a lot of space in front of you to go out with a counter-attack. They dont’ squeeze you as much. At Barça or Madrid, everyone puts on more player in midfielder and you must have this mental ability: think, decide, and execute quickly.”
“And I did not see this in Tchouameni,” he concluded.
Barcelona were, of course, also interested in Tchouameni before he departed for Madrid. At this point it was too late, though, as the Frenchman’s value had soared up in value, and he ended up costing Los Blancos around €100 million including add-ons.
