Paris Saint-Germain were expected to be busy in this summer’s transfer market with a replacement for Kylian Mbappe after he joined Real Madrid yet the French giants have been outspent by the likes of Premier League pair Aston Villa and Brighton and Hove Albion. Luis Enrique led Les Parisiens to Ligue 1, Coupe de France and Trophee des Champions success last year and the Spanish tactician also oversaw a UEFA Champions League semifinal run while navigating a painful divorce with their former star man.
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The 54-year-old insisted at the height of the sparring between Mbappe and PSG that he was building towards a future version of his side without the ex-AS Monaco man but this summer has really been the proof of that with no sign of an attempt to replace their former No. 7 directly. Instead, Paris made targeted signings in goal, defense, midfield and attack with Matvey Safonov, Willian Pacho, Joao Neves and Desire Doue to boost quality squad depth but also add flexibility in terms of positional variety — notably in terms of Doue’s ability to play as a proper No. 10.
“We have had a very good window,” said Luis Enrique recently of this summer’s business which has also seen a number of non-essential squad players moved on including Manuel Ugarte, Danilo Pereira, Carlos Soler, Nordi Mukiele and Joane Gadou. “We improved with one player per line. We knew it would be a difficult window like for all teams. We already have a very good team because we strengthened last year and now we want to move forward with this project.”
PSG earned a reputation over the years of Qatari ownership for making various transfer market splashes including Neymar’s world-record arrival from Barcelona and Mbappe’s acquisition from Monaco but the message for the past two years has been that this is no longer the club’s approach. Les Parisiens have stuck to their new philosophy of a young, hungry and largely French squad as part of a move towards a new era of financial sustainability with a lowered wage bill within the limits of financial fair play which Luis Enrique has been a significant part of after just 12 months.
“Ever since I joined PSG, even with the market already open, I have had an influence,” said the former Spain, Barca and AS Roma boss. “No player I do not like has signed for the club. Since my arrival, I have been lucky enough to have a good understanding with Nasser Al-Khelaifi and Luis Campos. I hope we are going to experience a lot together. I am part of a perfect project and I have adapted well to it.”
Part of that new dawn has also been a push towards a team with a lower average age than most of its competitors both domestically and also continentally with Paris the youngest team to go beyond last year’s UCL quarterfinals with an average age of just 22 this term. Safonov, Pacho, Neves and Doue’s average ages alone put them just below 22 in what is already a very youthful Ligue 1 competition but also hints as the mid to long-term nature of what PSG are trying to be about moving forward.
“I think it has been a very interesting start to the season, I did not expect to start at this level,” said Luis Enrique of a 100% winning start to the new campaign. “The potential is there and the players are keen to improve their performance. As a team, having an idea of what we want to do offensively and defensively does not frustrate the players in their individual performances, quite the opposite. I think this season we will have a lot of players who will go beyond their usual statistics and that will benefit the team.”
Yet there were still calls for PSG to move for the likes of Napoli’s Victor Osimhen and Manchester United’s Jadon Sancho because big-money signings are what has become expected of the club over the years but also because of the finances freed up by Mbappe’s departure. Luis Enrique refused to have another superstar thrust upon him though and resisted temptation to ask for further recruits and instead has liberated Bradley Barcola with a regular starting role on the left and revitalized Randal Kolo Muani in the absence of the injured Goncalo Ramos.
“We do not want players who come here just to do us a favor,” he said. “It should be the opposite. We want players who are hungry, who want to come to a club as unique as PSG, to a unique city and to a unique country and who want to write their name in the club’s history books. The next step is to keep going down this path by improving the squad. I am really, really motivated. What I see and what I feel from the players is ambition; I think that we are going to have a very good season.”
The early signs are positive with nine points from a possible nine to lead bitter rivals Olympique de Marseille’s new-look side under Roberto De Zerbi by two points after wins over Havre AC, Montpellier HSC and Lille OSC. With occasionally peripheral figures like Marco Asensio and Kang-In Lee now getting regular involvement too, PSG’s squad makes the most sense that it has done in a long time and that could be reflected in Europe despite a tricky inaugural UCL League Phase draw.
PSG will face Girona (home), Arsenal (away), PSV (home), Atletico Madrid (home), Bayern Munich (away), Red Bull Salzburg (away), Manchester City (home) and Stuttgart (away) in the inaugural League Phase of the Champions League. You can watch all of the French giants’ games and many more on Paramount+ from Matchday 1 on September 18.
