Real Madrid News
Real Madrid manager planning for next season with €85m star as the defensive pivot
Aurelien Tchouameni’s first season at Real Madrid was far from the paradise it promised to be. Having just lost the services of Casemiro, Carlo Ancelotti turned to the newly arrived youngster with hope, but his season fell steeply despite a promising start.
After a turbulent term with irregular minutes, Tchouameni’s future became an obvious centre for debate. However, recent reports have confirmed that the manager retains faith in him and that he would stay at the club next season.
According to an update from AS, Ancelotti is building a team for the coming season with the Frenchman as the starting defensive midfielder. This not only guarantees the World Cup finalist regular playing time but also reveals a lot about the manager’s plans for the overcrowded midfield department.
For starters, it implies that Toni Kroos will not play as a regular defensive midfielder in 2023/24, contrary to reports that he saw his future in the deeper role. Moreover, it also confirms that the Italian tactician sees Eduardo Camavinga as an interior midfielder higher up.
The doors for speculation are thus blown further open now. After all, the update places Federico Valverde, Jude Bellingham, Luka Modric, Dani Ceballos, and Kroos in competition for just two spots.
At first glance, it would appear that the veterans would step aside for the younger generation to take over the reins. That theory was also crushed earlier this week when the media revealed that Kroos and Modric were going to see little to no reduction in prominence.
Needless to say, it is a good dilemma for the manager to have, although it will be difficult to manage the playing times of so many stars.
The overbooking in midfield and the shortage of attackers could even spark a change in formation to a 4-3-1-2, with Tchouameni lining up as the holding midfielder and Bellingham as the No. 10, with the remaining two spots being rotated between Camavinga, Kroos, Valverde, Modric, and Ceballos.
Turning the light back onto Tchouameni, whose market value stands at €85 million, the youngster finally appears set to have the opportunity he desired so deeply. With the manager showing his trust, it is now up to the Frenchman to prove his worth and etch his name as a regular.
Real Madrid News
Real Madrid academy strategy pays off with €210m windfall and 34 Spain internationals – report
Real Madrid’s academy has been a huge success story in recent seasons, even if not many players have found a place in the first team.
Los Blancos have used Castilla as one of the main sources of revenue to fund their first team, and the value of the academy has continued to increase.
According to AS, Madrid generated €210 million from academy-related player operations during the summer.
Meanwhile, 34 players developed at the club have represented Spain across the different men’s national-team age groups during the current international period.
Valdebebas producing players at every level
That international presence stretches from the senior Spain squad, featuring academy products Ivan Fresneda, Victor Munoz and Fran Garcia, all the way down to the Under-16s.
The results at academy level have also been impressive, with Madrid securing the league, Champions Cup, Youth League and Intercontinental Cup.
Behind those results is a structure involving around 300 players, 50 coaches and 40 scouts, with academy director Manuel Fernandez overseeing the project.
The objective is not simply to build youth teams capable of winning trophies. Madrid want players with genuine elite potential.
Some, such as Raul Asencio and Thiago Pitarch, can eventually help the first team. Others can develop into valuable assets sought by clubs across Europe’s top leagues.
€210 million demonstrates the financial value
The financial pathway has become increasingly important.
Madrid’s €210 million return was driven by several major operations, including €60 million from Como for Nico Paz and €40 million from Fulham for Gonzalo Garcia.
Victor Munoz, Mario Gila, Alvaro Rodriguez, Alex Jimenez, Palacios and Jacobo were among the other academy products whose moves exceeded €10 million.
Crucially, most of that €210 million came from footballers who never held a permanent first-team squad place.
La Fabrica does not need every player to become a starter
The strongest argument for Madrid’s model is that an academy cannot realistically produce a first-team starter every season when the senior squad is already at such a high level.
Judging La Fabrica only by how many youngsters establish themselves at the Bernabeu therefore misses much of its value.
Madrid are creating several successful outcomes instead: first-team players, internationals and valuable footballers who generate significant transfer income.
Thirty-four Spain representatives and €210 million in one summer tell you that the proof is in the pudding.
Madrid will hope their academy can continue to be as productive in the coming years, and it remains to be seen how things play out.
