As John W Henry made his fortune in futures trading, he clearly knows the importance of buying or selling at the best possible moment. Yet Liverpool may have made a costly mistake in the transfer market, at least if rumours are to be believed.
Last summer it was reported that the Reds were looking to sign Aurelien Tchouameni from Monaco for £25milion. While that deal did not come to pass, the rumours have refused to go away, and have resurfaced once again.
Things may be moving forward now though. Santi Aouna of Foot Mercato has claimed Liverpool have contacted the player’s representatives regarding a potential transfer, with Jurgen Klopp having identified Tchouameni as “one of his priorities” for this summer.
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However, it will reportedly now cost at least £42million to prise the 22-year-old midfielder out of Ligue 1 and into the Premier League. As Tchouameni will only have two years remaining on his contract at the end of this season, why has the price risen by 68 percent?
One key difference from last summer is that the Monaco man is now a full international, having made eight appearances for France this season. Tchouameni scored his first goal last time out too, netting the winner in a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast.
While Ibrahima Konate has not yet made the step up to the senior side, he did win two under-21 caps alongside Tchouameni during the last European Championship at that level. If Liverpool need any insight into the player’s character ahead of potentially making a bid, they do have someone they can ask.
With the Reds’ recruitment process as thoroughly analytical as it is, Tchouameni will need to tick the correct numerical boxes and he has been doing that recently. In February, WhoScored declared that the Monaco midfielder was the most in-form player in Europe’s big five leagues according to their algorithm.
A first half red card in a subsequent 1-1 draw at Bordeaux ensured he fell down their pecking order, but to even reach that lofty standing at such a tender age is no mean feat. Tchouameni is most impressive on the defensive metrics, with only two players in Europe’s top five leagues amassing a greater combined total of tackles and interceptions in 2021/22 (per FBRef).
It’s also encouraging to see he leans towards the latter of the two defensive statistics. Milan Badelj of Genoa is the only one of the other 10 big league players with over 170 tackles and interceptions to have a lower proportion of the total made up of the former.
Tackles undoubtedly have a place, but there’s no guarantee of retaining possession after making one. If a player records a lot of interceptions, it implies they have greater skills of anticipation and can step in to snuff out any danger before the last resort of a tackle is required.
And it’s not that Tchouameni is only strong on the defensive side, it’s just where he ranks highest. He can certainly play too, as evidenced by the fact he is in the top 10 players in France for passes into the final third, progressive passes and dribble success rate. Perhaps more notable is the fact he stands further up the passing and dribbling charts than he did in 2020/21, clear evidence of a player who is developing, improving and who may now be ready for a move to a bigger club.
These are also metrics Thiago Alcantara has performed well against over the years, which helps explain why Statsbomb believe Tchouameni is one of the 10 midfielders to whom he is most similar.
In that case, perhaps the Reds view Tchouameni as the long-term inheritor of Thiago’s place in the team? Whether that comes to pass or not, we shall have to see. But waiting a year – if they are genuinely interested – has already supposedly cost them £17million, and they may not wish to risk that occurring again.
This article was first published in March 2022 and has since been updated
