Real Madrid News
Real Madrid will take 18-year-old academy whizkid on the US pre-season tour
With Real Madrid set to fly out for their pre-season tour of the United States of America soon, Mario Cortegana of The Athletic has provided an update on the composition of the squad for the trip.
All the first-team stars that are currently training under Carlo Ancelotti will be flying across the Atlantic, where they will be joined by the remaining players who were given an extended break, such as Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo Goes, and Aurelien Tchouameni, among others.
Now, Cortegana has reported that apart from the first-team players, Real Madrid also plan on taking a total of three academy prospects on the US tour, including teenage prodigy Nico Paz.
Along with the Argentine wonderkid, Los Blancos will also have two academy goalkeepers – Diego Pineiro and Fran Gonzalez – present during their pre-season tour of the USA.
Paz’s presence on the tour does not come as a surprise, considering that he is regarded as one of the brightest young talents to have come through the academy ranks at Real Madrid in recent times.
Indeed, the young attacking midfielder has been tipped for great things and is said to have caught the eye of manager Ancelotti as well.
Young Nico has been impressing heavily for Real Madrid’s Juvenil A team. Last season, he scored five goals in seven games for the side in the UEFA Youth League, helping them reach the quarter-finals.
The Argentine has made a solid impression while representing the Castilla outfit as well, for whom he has played 24 times, scoring two goals and setting up three more.
Real Madrid will take on AC Milan, Manchester United, Barcelona, and Juventus in pre-season friendlies during their US tour. It will certainly be interesting to see if Paz and the two goalkeepers, Pineiro and Gonzalez, get any minutes during those encounters.
Aurelien Tchouameni has had an exciting start to his career at Real Madrid. Since joining the club for almost €80 million last summer, the young Frenchman has now become a pivotal figure in Real Madrid’s midfield unit.
However, prior to his move to Santiago Bernabeu, the midfielder was closely linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
In a recent interview, Tchouameni opened up on his links to PSG but revealed his decision to join Real Madrid.
Aurelien Tchouameni on PSG links
Talking about speculations linking him to PSG, Tchouameni said (h/t Madrid Zone), “PSG? Frankly, I thought about it. It’s a very big European club, we want the French clubs to succeed.”
“But honestly, when Real Madrid calls you, it’s very complicated to say no,” Tchouameni added.
The midfielder was linked with a move to PSG during his time at AS Monaco. Les Parisiens wanted to sign the youngster as part of their plans to reinforce the midfield unit.
Tchouameni, though, ended up opting for a move to Real Madrid, which turned out to be a prudent decision from the midfielder’s end.
Tchouameni’s career at Real Madrid
Aurelien Tchouameni made a total of 50 competitive appearances during his maiden season at Real Madrid.
Although the Frenchman was not entirely a first-team regular in Carlo Ancelotti’s setup, his stature in the team is expected to grow in the coming years.
Especially as Toni Kroos and Luka Modric move on at the end of the season, there is scope for Tchouameni to become a first-team regular in the Real Madrid midfield in the years to come.
The former AS Monaco starlet has already played a crucial role in the starting eleven so far this season and it is only going to continue as the season progresses.
