Aurelien Tchouameni has made quite an impact at Monaco, the 21-year-old box-to-box midfielder earning interest from Juventus, Chelsea and Liverpool.
The midfielder already has three senior caps for France and is in the squad for the Nations League finals tournament, which sees Les Bleus take on Belgium this evening at the Allianz Juventus Stadium in Turin.
He was named Best Young Player in Ligue 1 for the 2020-21 season, having made the move from Girondins de Bordeaux to Monaco in January 2020 for €18m.
Tchouameni has an eye for goal, finding the net three times last term with four assists, while so far this season he has already scored two.
That’s no coincidence, because he started his career as a striker and is particularly strong in the air on set plays.
Juventus could try to tempt him with the many patisseries in Turin, because the France international has a sweet tooth.
His former Bordeaux youth academy teammate Zaydou Youssouf told France Football that Tchouameni got around the ban on desserts and snacks by drinking pure strawberry syrup, the kind you put into an iced drink or even a hot chocolate.
“It gave us that little hit of sugar that put us in a good mood.”
Although his physical strength and power are key factors in his success, his youth team coaches insisted these elements were not always present, as he had to work in the gym and on the training pitch to bulk up.
Cesc Fabregas discussed Tchouameni’s versatility, noting he could “play anywhere in midfield and not have a problem. He can play as a defensive midfielder, a Number 6, a Number 8, I even believe in a few years’ time he can become a good Number 10.”
It was under Niko Kovac at Monaco that he truly flourished, but that is also a concern, as he already rejected previous moves abroad because he didn’t feel ready. Confidence is key to Tchouameni and his next career step must be very carefully considered.
Undoubtedly, Juve see Tchouameni as an heir to Paul Pogba and it’s a comparison the young man is not going to shy away from.
“To be one of the best, you have to take inspiration from the best,” he said. “I look at the way Pogba uses the ball, the way N’Golo Kanté wins it, Patrick Vieira’s box-to-box style, the way Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas and Xavi Hernandez use the ball.”