Manchester United’s Aurelien Tchouameni hopes have seen a renewed boost, but the bigger hurdle is yet to be crossed.
Statement moves for a club the size of Man Utd don’t come much bigger than signing Aurelien Tchouameni from Real Madrid.
That looked like a legit plan until Florentino Perez poured cold water on it before the start of the window.
However, there is renewed hope now that Madrid are open to offers for Tchouameni, but the bigger hurdle wasn’t Madrid’s stance anyway.
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Aurelien Tchouameni’s salary demands will be rich
Ineos have taken great pains to reset the wage bill at Man Utd after years of the Glazers being directionless with their purse.
New signings have palatable wages, reliant on performance-based bonuses instead of higher basic pay, which is how clubs should run.
However, there are certain concessions you have to make when shopping in the elite bracket, and Tchouameni will demand those exact concessions.
The Real Madrid midfielder is reportedly on €240k/week, but all reports say that his demands will be higher if he is to leave Madrid.
Firstly, that brings a worry that he could only be extracted from Madrid with the promise of more money instead of sporting excellence.
Secondly, if his demands touch anywhere close to €300k/week, that immediately puts him at par with Bruno Fernandes, who has earned that wage after years of world-class performances at Old Trafford.
Madrid are generally sensible with selling players, so the club-to-club negotiations won’t take long, but the bigger hurdle is to reach an agreement on a salary package that tempts Tchouameni, but also doesn’t break United’s structure.
Man Utd must contact Tchouameni first
What United cannot afford is a repeat of the Frenkie de Jong situation, where they spent the whole summer negotiating with Barcelona before realising the player didn’t want to leave anyway.
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Ineos have earned enough fan credit that instances like those are unlikely to be repeated, but if there was ever a player who deserved special convincing, it’s Tchouameni.
Therefore, they need to contact him first, get his side of the story, his preferences, sporting and financial demands, and reach a complete agreement.
Only if those factors align completely should United enter negotiations with Madrid, because the size of this deal, if it happens, will be the biggest Ineos have concluded at United.
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