Comparing Aurelien Tchouameni’s 21-22 stats to Chelsea’s midfielders

Quick Reads

Aurelien Tchouameni of France during the match between France and Kazakhstan on November 13, 2021 at Parc des Princes, Paris, France

Joshua Law
16th February 2022

Chelsea, according to a report in the Telegraph, are going to back Thomas Tuchel with some serious transfer funds in the summer – and one of their targets is Monaco midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni.

Despite bringing in Romelu Lukaku last summer, Chelsea have been off the pace in the title race in 2021-22, currently sitting 16 points behind Manchester City, albeit with a game in hand.

Rather than sack Tuchel, however, the Telegraph is reporting that Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich will provide the German coach with the funds to put together a squad capable of challenging for another Premier League title.

One of their priorities is a central defender (or two), and Jules Kounde has been heavily linked. But Chelsea are also looking for midfielders to bolster the ranks.

Declan Rice has been repeatedly mentioned, but the Telegraph also claim that Chelsea are interested in French wonderkid Aurelien Tchouameni, who has been tearing it up in Ligue 1.

He was voted the best young player in Ligue 1 in 2020-21 and the 22-year-old defensive midfielder has already played seven times for the French senior national team, such is his talent.

His club manager Niko Kovac has showered him with praise this season. In October, he said: “[Tchouameni] takes on his responsibilities in the middle of the park, which is a strategic zone.

“In that position, you need to be disciplined and organise others around you. When I look at him compared to one year ago, he’s no longer the same player. He’s always trying to learn and understand. He absorbs all the information we give him.”

It is little wonder that Chelsea are interested, then. But with some high-class midfielders like Jorginho, N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic already at the club, would Tchoumeni immediately get into the side?

Here, we’ve compared the Monaco star’s 2021-22 Ligue 1 stats to the corresponding stats of Chelsea’s central midfielders. Note: we’ve only included players with more than 500 league minutes this season.

Goals
Jorginho – 6
N’Golo Kante – 2
Mateo Kovacic – 2
Aurelien Tchouameni – 1
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 0

Assists
Mateo Kovacic – 5
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 2
N’Golo Kante – 2
Aurelien Tchouameni – 1
Jorginho – 1

Minutes per goal or assist
Mateo Kovacic – 161
Jorginho – 218.4
N’Golo Kante – 240.3
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 347
Aurelien Tchouameni – 955.5

Chances created per 90 minutes
Mateo Kovacic – 1.4
Jorginho – 0.9
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 0.8
N’Golo Kante – 0.7
Aurelien Tchouameni – 0.6

Successful dribbles per 90 minutes (success rate)
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 3.4 (69.4%)
Mateo Kovacic – 2.5 (80.6%)
N’Golo Kante – 2.1 (75%)
Aurelien Tchouameni – 1.4 (77.8%)
Jorginho – 0.4 (66.7%)

Tchouameni’s anticipation of the pass, the interception & the assist… we need to sign this man. pic.twitter.com/O7ulYfhFcp

— Felix ⭐️⭐️ (@CFC_Felix_) January 30, 2022

Passes per 90 minutes (passing accuracy)
Jorginho – 70.5 (88.7%)
Aurelien Tchouameni – 67.3 (86.5%)
Mateo Kovacic – 66.2 (87.5%)
N’Golo Kante – 61.8 (85.3%)
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 57.1 (87.7%)

Successful tackles per 90 minutes
Aurelien Tchouameni – 3.2 (80%)
Mateo Kovacic – 3.2 (74.4%)
N’Golo Kante – 2.8 (75.7%)
Jorginho – 2.5 (50%)
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 1.6 (72.7%)

Shots per 90 minutes (inside penalty area)
Aurelien Tchouameni – 1.8 (0.8)
Ruben Loftus-Cheek – 1.8 (0.8)
Mateo Kovacic – 1.3 (0.4)
N’Golo Kante – 0.8 (0.3)
Jorginho – 0.8 (0.5)