2023-06-30 21:40:00
Paris lives on “if” since the start of the offseason. So if Luis Enrique does indeed end up becoming their coach, he won’t be short of manpower for the defender position. If his compatriot Sergio Ramos left the capital despite a full season with 45 matches in all competitions, the Spanish technician should on the other hand be able to count on two reinforcements of choice: Milan Skriniar, at the end of his contract with Inter, and Lucas Hernandez, who would arrive from Bayern as part of a transfer estimated between 40 and 50 million euros.
Including these two probable recruits, Paris would have six central defenders (Marquinhos, Presnel Kimpembe, Lucas Hernandez, Milan Skriniar, Danilo, who can also play in the middle, and El Chadaille Bitshiabu, who could leave), three right-backs (Achraf Hakimi, who can also play on the left, Nordi Mukiele who can also play in the middle, and Timothée Pembélé) and two left-backs (Nuno Mendes and Juan Bernat). All positions would thus be doubled or even tripled depending on the device chosen and taking into account the versatility of certain elements.
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The workforce is provided and allows the next Parisian coach to rely on a system with three centrals, favored by the Parisian sports adviser Luis Campos, or a more classic scheme with two centrals, more recommended by Luis Enrique. In the latter case, it will be up to the Asturian, if he is appointed PSG coach, to spare the egos. In particular those of the central defenders, who would then find themselves at six for two positions, five in the event of the departure of Bitshiabu.
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The task may seem delicate because Paris would not lack quality in the defensive axis. Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Hernandez, Skriniar and Danilo, perhaps the best Parisian defender over the past season, can all claim a starting place given their status as confirmed players at the highest level. This quality is also clear on the sides where PSG have competitive holders (Hakimi and Mendes) and credible linings (Mukiele and Bernat).
It is more the reliability of the Parisian defenders who would have something to question. She was already asking about the current workforce. Not really in the case of Marquinhos (4 matches missed through injury in 2022-23), Danilo (3 matches), Hakimi (5 matches) or Bernat (1 match). Much more concerning Kimpembe (35 matches missed in 2022-23 and whose return is not expected before the fall), Mendes (18 matches), Mukiele (20 matches) and Pembélé (22 matches).
165 matches missed due to injury
The question arises even more with regard to the recruits announced at PSG in this sector. Lucas Hernandez missed 36 games for Bayern last season after suffering a knee injury at the World Cup and has not returned to competition despite returning to training in April. And Skriniar was sidelined for 22 games with Inter, mostly in the second half of the season, with a back problem.
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On the physical reliability of his defense, the figures do not really have anything to encourage optimism for PSG. By adding up the unavailability due to injury of the members of the current workforce and the announced recruits, the Parisian defenders missed a rather dizzying total of 165 matches over the whole of last season. That is an average of 15 matches per defender. What make it almost impossible for a coach to set up a stable defense.
Christophe Galtier had suffered greatly last season. Between injuries and a limited defense force, the Parisian coach had often had to tinker, even repositioning the young Warren Zaire-Emery in an unusual role of right piston in certain matches. Paris has left to densify this sector with the announced arrivals of Skriniar and Hernandez. But the Slovak and the French are far from offering more reliability to a defense which was already sorely lacking last season. And that is precisely what PSG was supposed to correct this summer.
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