Manchester United have intensified their monitoring of Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni following a training ground fight involving Federico Valverde that ended with the Uruguayan being hospitalised with a concussion. The incident, initially reported by Marca, began with Valverde refusing to shake Tchouameni’s hand and escalated into a physical confrontation in the dressing rooms at Valdebebas.
Real Madrid fined both players €500,000 each following a disciplinary hearing, during which the club confirmed both had “shown total repentance” and apologised for their conduct. The fine represents one of the most significant internal sanctions handed out by any European club in recent seasons.
Ben Jacobs reported that United had made a “formative” approach to Tchouameni’s camp over a potential summer deal, with the Frenchman viewed as a replacement for Casemiro, whose contract expires at the end of the season. The Red Devils had placed Tchouameni on their shortlist as far back as April, with TEAMtalk confirming that contact had been made with the player’s representatives and that both United and Liverpool were tracking him. The midfielder joined Real Madrid from Monaco for £85 million in 2022, and a transfer fee of around £70 million is believed to be the working figure at this stage.
Mick Brown, ex-United chief scout, told Football Insider that the fight would not deter the club from their pursuit. “I’m told Man United have been looking at Tchouameni. He’s just had this bust-up with Valverde, so they’ll be keeping an eye on the fallout of that. These things happen in football; it’s a lot more common than you would think. It’s just not usually as public as it seems to have been at Real Madrid. So Man United could look to take advantage of that if there’s any suggestion he could leave, because these issues don’t seem to be going away.”
However, Fabrizio Romano tempered expectations considerably on his YouTube channel, noting that the fight alone would not be sufficient to force a transfer. “On Aurélien Tchouaméni, there is interest from Man United, that’s for sure. He’s a dream target for Man United, but it doesn’t mean that he is going to Man United because he had a fight with Valverde.” The transfer expert’s caution is backed up by information that Tchouameni himself currently wishes to remain at the Bernabeu and fight for his place, with Madrid also planning to offer him a new contract given his deal runs until 2028.
The most significant signal from the Tchouameni camp came via a reliable United source named Sully, who told followers that Real Madrid would be open to a sale, but only on one condition: “Roundtable understands that Real Madrid would be open to letting Aurelien Tchouaméni leave, only on the basis that the player himself asks to leave. It is up to Manchester United to try to convince him to join, as the Spanish giants want to keep him. His current stance is that he wants to stay.”
Madrid are simultaneously dealing with the fallout of Valverde’s situation, with Goal reporting that the club’s hierarchy is “furious” with the Uruguayan, who has accumulated 371 appearances for the club and is considered a cornerstone of their midfield. The dressing room has reportedly divided, with senior figures siding with Tchouameni, which has only added to uncertainty around whether Valverde himself could be sold this summer, with United and others monitoring that situation in parallel.
For United, the summer midfield rebuild is now one of the most significant pieces of business any top club will conduct. Casemiro leaves on a free, Ugarte is expected to be sold, and the expectation from multiple reports is that two or three new central midfielders could arrive. Tchouameni, Ederson of Atalanta, and Elliot Anderson of Nottingham Forest are among those on the shortlist. Whether the Valverde situation ultimately accelerates the Tchouameni conversation depends entirely on how the player himself responds to what has been a deeply disruptive few weeks at one of the world’s biggest clubs.