PSG news: Paris Saint-Germain beat out Manchester United for Goncalo Guedes
By Thuya Kyaw
PSG won the race to seal the signature of the Portuguese wonder kid Goncalo Guesdes, who has been dubbed as the new Cristiano Ronaldo
The French champions PSG have officially completed the signing of Portuguese youngster Goncalo Guedes, who was also a reported target of Manchester United.
The 20-year-old signed a four and a half year contract with PSG, as the deal was agreed to be in the region of £22 million.
Guedes has been dubbed as “the new Cristiano Ronaldo” due to their similar style in play. The Portuguese starlet shares the drizzling speed, directness, and an eye for goal as the Portuguese icon.
He is also the first 18-year-old to be selected for the national team since Ronaldo in 2003. Guedes made the mark with A Seleção in a 2015 friendly against Russia. The impressive records don’t stop there, he is the youngest Portuguese to score during the group stage of Champions League when he scored a breakaway goal to give his side a shock win over Atletico Madrid last season.
He is set to wear the number 15 shirt in his new club and will be a direct replacement for Jese Rodriguez, who has been reported to leave the French capital this month.
Although his natural position is playing on the wing, he can also be used centrally as an attacking midfielder or a striker due to his vision and ability to finish. He was used in a central striking position for Portugal youth teams and Benfica this season, where he managed to score six goals in 24 matches. His versatility will give the manager Unai Emery a chance to rest the star striker Edinson Cavani at times to keep the Uruguayan fresh.
Guedes will however miss out on the crucial Champions League tie against Barcelona next month, due to being cup-tied in the competition after already turning out for Benfica in the group stage.
This signing sends out a message to the rest of Europe from PSG, whose mission now is to bring in talented European starlets to nurture them to be world beaters instead of throwing away tons of money on already established superstars. Earlier this month, the Paris outfit also brought in an exciting German winger Julian Draxler for €35 million.
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PSG are moving into a new direction and with a combination of many energetic youngsters and experienced leaders, they might just pull of an upset or two this season in Europe.
On the other hand, losing out on Guedes will come in as a disappointment for Manchester United and their Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho, who wanted the youngster to take the place of the already departed Memphis Depay.
Although United already have the exciting youngster of their own in the name of Marcus Rashford, bringing in Guedes and fielding them at the same time could have wreaked havoc to Premier League defenses.
The Portuguese manager could also have had another intention to recruit his compatriot. According to the latest reports coming out of Manchester, his relationship with Anthony Martial is becoming increasingly strained after he left the French youngster out of the squad against Stoke due to the poor performance against Liverpool.
Martial was already reported to be unhappy after he had to give up his number nine shirt to Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the summer, and is now looking for a loan move away from the club.
Next: Martial could leave Manchester United
Guedes could have been a perfect candidate to replace both Martial and Depay. But now, the Portuguese has sworn his allegiance to the Paris club and will compete for a spot against the likes of Draxler, Lucas Moura, Angel di Maria, and Hatem Ben Arfa.