“It’s possible”. Those were the words of The Athletic’s Andy Mitten, while discussing Manchester United‘s apparent interest in Real Madrid star Aurelien Tchouameni this week.
The respected United journalist was keen to stress that there’s no guarantee that a deal will get done, although the mere suggestion of a ‘possible’ move will be enough to get tongues wagging.
The Frenchman is merely one of many on United’s shortlist, alongside 2025 summer target, Carlos Baleba, although the club’s admiration for him is long-standing, having been recommended to the then-Old Trafford hierarchy by Ralf Rangnick four years ago.
Tchouameni was a bright young thing at Monaco at the time, now he’s arguably “one of the best defensive midfielders on the planet” in the view of some, with both he and Baleba likely to be leading targets to fill Casemiro’s void ahead of next season.
How Baleba and Tchouameni compare this season
It’s difficult to know where United would be without Casemiro this season, the Brazilian up to eight Premier League goals in what is set to be his final campaign at the club.
A monster in both boxes, the former Madrid star won’t be easy to replace, it must be said, with getting that replacement right set to be central to the club’s success moving forward.
Be it Michael Carrick or another, the next permanent manager at Old Trafford needs a new defensive pillar in front of the back four, something that either Baleba or Tchouameni could provide.
In the Brighton and Hove Albion man’s case, a £50m price tag has been mooted for a player who has endured a difficult 2025/26 on the south coast, the 22-year-old potentially impacted by the links to United over the summer.
Tchouameni, meanwhile, has endured his own battles as part of a turbulent Madrid side, although at 26, he would seemingly provide the superior, ready-made option, having bettered Baleba across a string of metrics so far this season.
Baleba vs Tchouameni – 25/26
B
Stat (*per game)
T
27
Games
29
20
Starts
27
0
Goals & Assists
1
86%
Pass accuracy*
91%
0.2
Key passes*
0.8
1.1
Tackles*
2.1
0.9
Interceptions*
1.2
0.5
Dribbled past*
0.5
48%
Total duels won*
69%
5.1
Ball lost*
6.2
Neither target would be sniffed at either way, however, with there reason to suggest that INEOS are now back on track in the recruitment department, particularly following a successful 2025 in that sense.
INEOS have struck gold Man Utd’s most valuable player
In the case of Tchouameni and Baleba, both men were schooled in Ligue 1, before moving on to bigger and better things, the Seagulls star having reportedly been a target for United in his teenage years, after bursting onto the scene at Lille.
France also proved the start of a stellar journey for a certain Bryan Mbeumo too, the France-born Cameroon international starting his senior career at Troyes, typically operating in Ligue 2 at the time.
A move to Brentford soon followed in 2019, with the left-footer emerging as a centre-piece of the side that claimed promotion under Thomas Frank, prior to hitting the ground running at Premier League level.
It was indeed Mbeumo who put the icing on the cake for the Bees in that 4-0 thrashing over Erik ten Hag’s side back in August 2022, having formed a devastating partnership with the likes of Ivan Toney and Yoane Wissa.
That culminated in the highs of his 20-goal campaign in 2024/25, sealing a £65m switch to Old Trafford, with the 26-year-old having performed more than creditably since then, particularly on the big occasion.
The clinical marksman has already netted away at Anfield, the Emirates and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, while also netting in the January derby win over Manchester City at home, currently sitting on nine league goals for the season and ten in all competitions.
Since returning from AFCON duty, his level might be have dipped somewhat, having not scored since the win over Spurs in February, although it’s hard to argue against just what an astute signing he has been for the INEOS regime.
That can be seen in the fact that, as per Transfermarkt, he is now the club’s most valuable player at €80m (£69m), with that valuation placing him ahead of both Tchouameni and Baleba in that regard.
In the former’s case, the Madrid man is said to be worth €75m (£64m), while the latter is deemed to be worth just €55m (£43m), providing an indication of the type of deals United should be looking to strike.
In any case, Mbeumo’s soaring value and big game impact has ensured he represents one of many encouraging arrival under INEOS so far, with the hope being that either Baleba and Tchouameni can join him in the first-team ranks this summer.
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