Paris Saint-Germain are once again in the eye of the storm. With Kylian Mbappé triggering a summer of turmoil with his letter to the club, stating he wouldn’t extend his contract, the transfer window at the Parc des Princes has undoubtedly been impacted. Other than the need to replace him, the saga has also dissuaded players from joining the French capital.
According to L’Équipe, the lack of clarity on the Mbappé situation is stopping players from coming to the Ligue 1 champions – indicating that the saga will be crucial in their decision to come or not. As reported yesterday, the situation has impacted sporting advisor Luís Campos’ position at the club, with his lack of firmness with the French captain being stated as a weakness of his. The board seemingly promised Luis Enrique upon his arrival that they “would find a solution” to the situation. Only 8 days remain before the first game of the season against Lorient.
Throughout the summer, PSG have tried to recruit top players in Europe’s biggest clubs, with a certain departure of their French star in mind. However, they received negative responses from Bernardo Silva, Victor Osimhen and most likely Harry Kane with regard to them joining the club. Whether that is down to the players’ choices or the negotiations with the respective clubs not coming to fruition is another story.
On a positive note, it seems that Ousmane Dembélé is only a step away from joining Les Parisiens, with his medical announced for today. While his talent is clear, his injury record and lack of consistency is still a concern.
Meanwhile, the Gonçalo Ramos case is peculiar one. It is believed that if the club throw all they have at singing the Benfica striker, this would be an admittance of weakness. As Randal Kolo Muani and Bradley Barcola’s cases are still being considered, the rumours around Ramos seem to suggest that PSG are edging towards a deal.
Bursting onto the scene by scoring a hattrick at the last World Cup, while benching Cristiano Ronaldo, Ramos is one of the finest strikers of his generation and his 27 goals and 12 assists last season are there to vouch for that. Will he be able to score the 40 to 50 goals Mbappé usually gets? Only time will tell.
Finally, PSG’s other big issue this summer, is selling the fringe players. Many were loaned out last season, such as Julian Draxler, Abdou Diallo, Leandro Paredes or Georginio Wijnaldum, but they are now back in the capital, playing together in a separate part of the new training facilities.
They are being pushed towards the exit, but their high wages are not helping the club to get them off their books. Other departures of players involved in the Asian tour could happen, Marco Verratti being one of those. Like many clubs in France, the rest of the transfer window promises to be busy at PSG.
