Dubai: If there was a mantra for Paris Saint-Germain’s transfer policy this summer, then it looks as if it goes along the lines of ‘the team works’.
With club president Nasser Al Khelaifi hinting that PSG’s summer transfer business is all but finished after the reported 25m euro (Dh103.4m) signing of Real Madrid starlet Jesé Rodriguez, there is a different feel to the club as they enter a new era.
In the wake of the departure of talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic, PSG haven’t splashed out on a ‘star’ replacement striker, leaving Edinson Cavani, who has played very much in the shadow of the Swede for the last three seasons, to lead the line for Les Parisiens — a job he is capable of doing, as he showed with former club Napoli.
Rather than making a marquee signing, PSG have invested in talented young players such as Giovani Lo Celso and Thomas Meunier. The latter has had a breakthrough summer, starting three games for Belgium at Euro 2016 and earning himself both a reputation and a transfer to one of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Jesé is only 23 years old and has already made Champions League appearances with Real Madrid, despite missing most of the 2014/15 campaign with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
The two biggest additions to Unai Emery’s squad are Polish powerhouse Grzegorz Krychowiak from Sevilla, and diminutive French attacking midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa from Nice, who had a return to form last season, having endured a miserable couple of years in northern England at Newcastle United and Hull City.
Krychowiak had only been playing in La Liga for two seasons, but in that short period won two Europa League titles and was named in the 2014/15 Team of the Season.
Krychowiak, perhaps surprisingly ignored by Premier League sides given his impressive form, has also played in Ligue 1 before, starting his career with Bordeaux before moving to Reims. His Ligue 1 experience will mean he can slot into the starting eleven straight away, and won’t need time to adapt like other foreign signings.
Hatem Ben Arfa scored 17 goals in 34 league appearances last season, in contrast to the 13 goals in 84 appearances he recorded during his five-year spell in England. Joining for free after his contract ran out with Nice, the 29 year-old isn’t a large gamble for the Qatari-owned club, although his lack of discipline in the past has led to lengthy spells on the sidelines. If Emery can keep him in the right frame of mind, he can be a star for PSG this season, and has the flair to fill the hole left by Ibrahimovic.
PSG’s main rivals will be rejoicing at the apparent lack of improvement to the PSG squad, but fans can be confident that they have invested wisely for the post-Zlatan era, buying players to act as a team, rather than to provide Ibrahimovic with the goals. Cavani himself will unlikely be able to match Zlatan’s astonishing goal-haul, but as a team they will score just as many and shouldn’t struggle to win the league comfortably once again this year.
The major question, once again for this team, is whether can they ape domestic success with much-coveted Champions League glory.
– The writer is an intern with Gulf News
