Shortly before 10:59pm, Paris Saint-Germain’s administrative services sent the necessary documents to verify the arrival of Randall Kolo Mwani. Until the end Frankfurt will try to slow down the arrival of the France international. It happened a few minutes. The last point that gives the transfer window the appearance of success having accomplished two other major tasks: degreasing and Frenchizing the dressing room.
French team
With the first arrivals of Manuel Ugarte, Marco Asensio, Kang-in-Lee or even Cher N’Dour, and Marcus Thuram departing for Inter Milan, the desire to Frenchize the workforce initially seemed vague until mid-July. Then the recruitment of Lucas Hernandez, a member of the French national team, the 2018 world champion, was one of the pillars of Didier Deschamps until his injury during the France-Australia match in the 2022 World Cup, a turning point in Parisian contracts.
Another tri-colour player who became almost indisputable soon followed in Ousmane Dembele before Paris Saint-Germain’s attacking desires slipped away: Bradley Barkola, the promising, and Randall Kolo Mwani, the sure international. With Kylian Mbappe up front, Warren Zaire Emery as an emerging power taking charge (including at Espoars with Thierry Henry), not forgetting Prisnel Kimpembe, important before his achilles injury, PSG’s backbone looks like an offshoot of the Blues. The coach is the one who rubs his hands but Paris is the one who smiles above all.
President Nasser Al-Khelaifi certainly wanted to intensify the group of French players, realizing that the connection with the fans is linked more, or more easily, to the symbols of the country in which the club plays. Especially since the stars of the “past” have not explicitly done anything to show their attachment to the city and the country, from Neymar to Leo Messi, or too much, like Marco Verratti, who seems to particularly appreciate the idea of a French party, this mixture of discretion and luxury if you can afford it. .
Finally, Paris Saint-Germain remains a world class team, dominated by the Portuguese (Danilo Pereira, Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, Goncalo Ramos, Brazilian Marquinhos), where Spanish seems to be the most involved language (Achraf Hakimi, Lucas Hernandez, Manuel Ugarte, Fabian Ruiz ). , Carlos Soler, Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe) but where the French help establish links between the different groups.
Competition is everywhere
With twelve players – eleven factoring in Xavi Simons’ loan to Leipzig – PSG have managed a smooth transfer window, exciting on paper and allowing all positions to double. In a press conference on Saturday, September 2, Luis Enrique was stunned: “Of course, I’m satisfied. I think this transfer window was exceptional, I would even say exceptional. The president and the sporting administration, led by Luis Campos, were fantastic. Honestly, we couldn’t have “Expect a better scenario. I think all my requests have been met, and it gives me great pleasure to have players of a high level in every position and I am very happy about that. Now is the time for us, the players, the coaching staff and the team, to restore confidence in the club.”
Paris Saint-Germain has greatly strengthened the defense and attack lines, where the competition will be the toughest. With Marquinhos, Milan Skriniar, Lucas Hernandez, Presnel Kempembe, Danilo Pereira and even Nordi Mukiele, the team has several hinges and can develop with two or three. Up front, the solutions have become more versatile with Randall Kolo Mwani who can fill all 4-3-3 positions, the versatility of Marco Asensio and Bradley Barcola but also the adaptability of Kang En Lee who has already occupied both wings. From the Luis Enrique collection.
A year ago, Paris Saint-Germain wanted a team that served the genius of Kylian Mbappe, a rejuvenated, more Frenchman and two teams of the same caliber, but that was not the case. It may have seemed like a long time for the leader of the blues, but Paris ended up taking action, with hard-working, collegiate elements capable of forming an osmosis without too much ego to disrupt the building. One-day substitutions will not weaken the composition of Paris Saint-Germain when the coach decides to amend it. And that seems to be his trademark with three different teams against Lorient, Toulouse and Lens.
Successful degreasing
Sporting considerations aside, the sale of Neymar would still be the historic blow to this transfer window. Paris managed to get away with a huge salary – €26m net per season – and managed to make a very good amount of money back – €90m has leaked out without confirmation. After the free departure of Leo Messi, also with huge bonuses, and Sergio Ramos, who was not really given, Paris made huge savings.
And if he did not get pharaonic compensation in return, he also sold Leandro Paredes and Georgino Wijnaldum and is preparing to do the same with Julian Draxler and Marco Verratti, who are absent from training on Saturday, and both of whom will leave for Qatar. From a purely financial point of view, PSG just recorded their best selling transfer window since 2011.
