Real Madrid's Long-Term Strategy with Aurelien Tchouameni

Real Madrid are taking the long view with Aurelien Tchouameni. The French midfielder has not played a minute this season, and that will not change until Jose Mourinho is convinced his body can withstand the grind.

Tchouameni has carried a groin problem since the World Cup with France, a nagging issue that forced the national team to manage his minutes and has followed him into club duty. After a physically demanding summer with his country, the discomfort has not fully disappeared.

Mourinho’s response has been blunt: no shortcuts.

Mourinho draws a hard line on Tchouameni

With Tchouameni sidelined, Mourinho has leaned on Federico Valverde and Bernardo Silva as his holding midfield pairing. It is a workable solution, but not the one he built his plans around.

According to Bernabeu Digital, Real Madrid have put in place a strict recovery programme for the 26-year-old and are refusing to bend, even as the player pushes to come back. Tchouameni wants to accelerate. Mourinho will not allow it.

The club have decided there will be no fixed return date. Instead, his workload will climb step by step, only when the medical staff and coaching team agree he is completely ready. No heroic comebacks. No “let’s see how it goes” appearances off the bench.

Mourinho’s stance underlines how central he believes Tchouameni can be. He sees the France international’s physical power, defensive security and ability to balance a midfield as non-negotiable elements of his system. The potential axis with Valverde, combining athleticism and structure, is a key part of that vision.

So Madrid are prepared to sacrifice him for several matches now to avoid losing him for months later. The message is clear: long-term availability beats short-term fixes.

Depth buys Madrid time

At this stage of the campaign, the logic is hard to argue with. Madrid have enough bodies in midfield to cope. Valverde brings relentless energy, Jude Bellingham dominates higher up the pitch, and others can plug gaps while Tchouameni rebuilds.

The real danger would be an avoidable relapse just as the calendar tightens and the season’s biggest games arrive. Last year’s injury problems still sting inside Valdebebas, and Mourinho is determined not to repeat the mistake of rushing key players back.

There had been noise around Tchouameni’s future when Madrid were heavily linked with Rodri. That speculation has cooled. The plan now is simple: get him right, then keep him right.

There is no definitive comeback date on the table. Even if it takes another month, the club want him returning at full fitness, not limping back into the XI.

The missing profile in Mourinho’s midfield

While Tchouameni recovers, another debate rumbles on around the squad: who controls games from the base?

Real Madrid have spent heavily this summer and strengthened across the pitch, yet one specific profile is still missing from Mourinho’s group. For all the talent in the middle of the park, he does not have a pure controller in the Rodri mould.

The club were on course to sign the Manchester City midfielder, only for the Spaniard to choose Barcelona instead. That decision left a gap in the blueprint.

Now, former Real Madrid player Alvaro Benito has floated a different solution. Speaking to Defensa Central, he argued that Arsenal midfielder Martin Zubimendi would give Mourinho exactly what he lacks.

Zubimendi as the organiser

Benito’s case for Zubimendi is not about eye-catching statistics or highlight-reel moments. He focuses on the subtler details: positioning, intelligence, how the Spain international uses the ball to improve those around him.

Zubimendi, he believes, raises the collective level. He brings competitiveness, strength in duels and a calmness at the base that would naturally appeal to Mourinho.

Madrid’s midfield already looks stacked on paper. Valverde supplies drive and legs, Bellingham dictates in advanced areas, and Tchouameni offers power and defensive cover. Zubimendi, though, represents a different type of anchor, one whose main value lies in giving structure and rhythm to the entire unit.

For Benito, he is perhaps the closest available alternative to the Rodri profile Madrid missed out on.

“If you can get your hands on him and he’s to Mourinho’s and the club’s liking… I wouldn’t hesitate to sign him. Zubimendi makes those around him better,” the former midfielder said.

Closed market, open question

Right now, a move looks remote. The report claims Real Madrid consider their squad effectively closed. Inside Valdebebas, no one expects major movement before the window shuts, either in arrivals or departures.

Arsenal, for their part, have also shut the door on a transfer. They do not plan to lose the 27-year-old this summer.

Even so, Benito insists Madrid should be ready if circumstances change and Mourinho gives the green light. If not now, he argues, Zubimendi is still a player worth tracking closely in the coming months.

Skipping a move this summer does not mean the story ends. A midfielder of that profile would almost certainly improve this Madrid engine room, and transfer sagas of this type have a habit of resurfacing every window.

As Tchouameni works his way back and Mourinho waits for his midfield to look exactly as he imagined, one question lingers over the Bernabeu: when the season reaches its sharpest edge, will Madrid regret not moving for a controller who can bend games to his tempo?