Manchester United will be forced to abandon their pursuit of Aurelien Tchouameni, with the midfielder reportedly agreeing to a contract extension at Real Madrid.
The Red Devils have prioritised strengthening in midfield this summer having revamped their attack with the addition of Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo for a combined fee of around £200million 12 months ago.
A host of high-profile names have been linked as Old Trafford bosses scour the transfer market for potential reinforcements in the middle of the park, with new permanent head coach Michael Carrick playing an active role in internal discussions.
Elliot Anderson had been on United’s wishlist on the back of an outstanding season with Nottingham Forest, but the England international turned down interest from the red half of Manchester to complete a switch to City.
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And while United have wrapped up a £35m agreement with Atalanta for Ederson, it’s understood the club are still working to get another central midfielder through the doors before the transfer deadline.
Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali were believed be high up on United’s shortlist of targets, with the two sought-after midfielders agitating for moves away from West Ham and Newcastle respectively.
However, Tottenham sent out a message of intent to their rivals by capturing both Fernandes and Tonali in the space of a week which, in turn, saw United focus their gaze back on Tchouameni.
United officials were said to have held exploratory talks to gauge Real Madrid’s stance on selling Tchouameni before the end of the summer transfer window.
But in another significant blow to United, both RMC Sport and The Athletic are reporting that Tchouameni has reached an agreement with Jose Mourinho’s Los Blancos over a deal that runs through to June 2031.
There were only two years remaining on Tchouameni’s previous contract at the Bernabeu.
Tchouameni joined Madrid in an £85m move from Monaco back in 2022 and has gone on to make 195 appearances in all competitions for the Spanish giants, while helping the club win eight pieces of silverware including La Liga and the Champions League.
The 26-year-old is currently on international duty with France at the World Cup, four years after picking up a runners-up medal in Qatar.
He has started three of Les Bleus’ five contests against Senegal, Norway and Sweden and will no doubt be desperate to be given the nod for tomorrow’s quarter-final showdown with Morocco.
Before flying out to the United States with the rest of Didier Deschamps’ squad, Tchouameni was involved in a pair of heated training ground clashes with Madrid team-mate Federico Valverde.
The second altercation hospitalised Valverde with a head injury and the pair were both slapped with hefty €500,000 fines.
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