PSG looking to fill a “Zlatan” sized hole this summer
By Marcel Dumas
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Ibra was sensational during his time in Paris and his departure puts a lot of pressure on PSG to make the right moves in its quest for European glory.
With the end of the Zlatan Ibrahimovic era at PSG now in the rear view, there are a lot of unanswered questions swirling. Will Zlatan take his talents to Manchester, Los Angeles or somewhere else? Also, how will PSG go about filling the void left from his departure?
These are answers that will be answered over the next couple of months, but the speculation is already beginning to mount. The capture of Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva from AC Milan confirmed PSG as a major player on the European stage. Ibra was sensational during his time in Paris and his departure puts a lot of pressure on PSG to make the right moves in its quest for European glory.
Zlatan is one of the most lethal strikers in the world because he combines technical skill with physical prowess. His is a combination that few possess and no one else can fully replicate. With that in mind, PSG has several options at their disposal as they continue their assault on the rest of Europe.
With Edinson Cavani already in Paris, PSG have a legitimate top-level striker to build their attack around. The absence of Ibrahimovic will allow Cavani to slot back into his preferred central location. When given those opportunities, Cavani has demonstrated the ability to produce at times, but still needs to become a consistent threat. His inconsistencies can be attributed to the constant shuffling between the wing and the center of the park.
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The other benefit of allowing Cavani lead the line is a potential change to how PSG would orchestrate their attack. With players like Angel Di Maria and Javier Pastore, there is plenty of ability to spread the ball around. Cavani is an attacker who makes more runs into space, where Ibra thrived more as a target man (though Ibra does make tremendous off the ball runs as well). Cavani holds a speed advantage on Zlatan that may result in defenders having to give more room. This extra room can become a playground of opportunities for Di Maria and for wingers like Lucas Moura to thrive in.
Moura had a slow start to the season, but eventually established himself as an excellent option (at Cavani’s expense) on the wing. His electric runs thru the channel could provide a large plate of opportunities for Cavani to cash in on.
While internally PSG has options, the expectation is for them to make a rather large splash in the transfer market. There are multiple names that could fit the bill, but will they be able to land any of them.
Napoli’s Gonzalo Higuian is a player that fills up the transfer rumor pages every summer for good reason. Over his career, he has been able to consistently find the back of the net. His name has been one of the most discussed as a possibility to replace Ibrahimovic.
Working in PSG’s favor is already boasting a large South American contingent including fellow Argentine internationals Di Maria and Pastore. His Argentine mates may make the difference in enticing him to leave Napoli in pursuit of Champions League glory in Paris instead of moving on to other rumored destinations like Manchester United.
Another name that has been making the rounds is Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette. The young forward has been tearing up Ligue 1 the past two seasons finishing only behind Ibrahimovic in total number of goals in that span.
While the soon to be 25-year-old is entering his prime years, the drawback of his signing is that it would not be viewed as a big splash. Lacazette has tremendous ability, but is unproven on the European and international stage. While he has shown signs that he can perform in those realms, his sample size is not large enough to guarantee the success that would be expected. Despite those potential drawbacks, PSG is very familiar with his abilities on the pitch from having played him multiple times over the last few seasons.
A name that has not made its way into the rumor mill yet, but would be a potentially excellent capture would be Borussia Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Aubameyang has been on fire for Dortmund this past season and has seen his name attached to multiple destinations this summer.
PSG was rumored to have interest in the former AS Saint-Etienne striker prior to his move to Germany. Aubameyang brings incredible pace that he uses to great advantage. His improved finishing over the last few seasons has seen the former AC Milan player make good on his potential.
Adding Aubameyang and partnering him with Moura would give PSG a tandem that could run defenders to death. His ability to get behind defenders can create havoc for opposing backlines. Aubameyang is also versatile enough to be effective on the wing as he played there successfully in his time at Saint-Etienne. this would give PSG multiple options up top to expose opposition weaknesses.
It would not be PSG without the customary world record-breaking fee rumor. Expect plenty of print to be devoted to PSG providing an escape from Madrid for Cristiano Ronaldo.
While Ronaldo is one of only a few names who could step in and make people nearly forget Zlatan, the chances of him coming to Paris are small. If Jose Mourinho had signed on to coach PSG, then the chances of landing the Portuguese super star would have been greater.
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PSG has many choices as far as avenues to pursue in filling the void left by Ibrahimovic. There are many possibilities that will find their way to the transfer speculation as the summer begins to heat up. One thing for certain is that PSG will be a prominent player in the summer transfer rumor cycle. What rumors end up becoming reality is anyone’s guess at this time.