The era of Zlatan Ibrahimovic at Paris Saint-Germain is over. Signed by Manchester United on a free transfer, his talents move to the Premier League, leaving France and Paris with a huge void to fill.
Regardless of your opinion of him as a personality, there’s no denying that he raised the bar at the Parc des Princes to a level never seen before.
In his first game in Ligue 1, with PSG 2-0 down at home to FC Lorient, Zlatan decided he wasn’t going to taste defeat, scoring twice to win his new club a point. That mentality lasted for the four years he was in the French capital, and it was infectious, turning PSG into a winning club.
He leaves as PSG‘s all-time leading scorer, with 113 Ligue 1 goals in 122 appearances. Four league titles, two Coupe de France wins, three Coupe de la Ligue crowns and three Player of the Season awards are not a bad return for a player in his 30s.
However, life goes on, and PSG have to move forward. Like any breakup, it’s not going to be easy. It’s going to take time, but Les Rouges et Bleu will come out of this better and stronger for the experience.
Instantly, PSG are much weaker in the final third. Not just with Zlatan‘s absence, but with Edinson Cavani‘s promotion as the main striker. Before we get complaints, yes, the Uruguayan will score between 20 and 25 goals in Ligue 1, but that’s not where he, or PSG, will be judged.
In three seasons, Cavani has scored 12 goals in the Champions League, via WhoScored.com. However, only two of those strikes came in the knockout stage of the competition. Twice against Chelsea, twice at home. Therein lies the problem that PSG have to solve.
With the likes of Hatem Ben Arfa, Lucas Moura, Javier Pastore and Angel Di Maria in attack, PSG will create chances. The problem they have found when it matters most is that Cavani misses too many of them.
The club is in the market for a centre-forward, and per ItaSportPress (h/t Football Italia), they have been linked with a move for Alvaro Morata. But as reported by Ligue1.com journalist Matt Spiro on Twitter, Le Parisien think his Spanish teammate Jese might be the more likely signing.
As discussed previously in this column, that is a move that makes very little sense with regard to solving PSG‘s attacking issues, despite Jese’s talent.
The future could lie in the Parisians putting faith in their own youth talent, rather than signing Real Madrid‘s graduates.
“We played a really good match against Inter Milan, and I’m very proud,” new director of football, Patrick Kluivert, told PSG’s official website while on tour in America. “Especially with the performance of the young players in the squad. Integrating youngsters is never easy but the senior players have taken them under their wings.”
Jean-Kevin Augustin won the UEFA Under-19 European Championship this summer with France. He finished as the tournament’s top scorer and impressed throughout.
He has the potential to be the striker PSG are looking for. Strong enough to play as the centre-forward, but with the pace and skill to push wide when asked.
If they are going to break the bank and sign a recognised forward, that would benefit the club. But if PSG are going to spend an eight-figure sum to sign someone who has yet to fully convince for his own side, why shouldn’t they take a chance and utilise a member of their own academy.
Behind Augustin, PSG also have 18-year-old Odsonne Edouard. He scored the fourth goal against Leicester City on Sunday and is another brilliant light of their youth setup.
Away from the final third, what PSG will also lack in Ibrahimovic‘s absence is a player to be the symbol of the club. That internationally recognised face that fans, media and advertisement agencies can all get behind.
Zlatan was the perfect man for that, and no one in the current squad is ready for that role. But there is potential.
Marco Verratti, the young Italian midfielder, has the ability and potential to become one of the best players in the world. He could grow to be the new face of PSG. They also have Pastore, Di Maria and captain Thiago Silva, but none of them feel quite right as the symbol of the club.
Great players in their own right, but maybe not as marketable.
One player who could grow into that role is Adrien Rabiot. Born in the suburbs of Paris, he may have left for Manchester City as a young teenager, but he eventually returned and has come through the club’s system.
Last season, his performances in the Champions League proved that he is good enough to play a huge part in the first-team squad and the hope is he will continue to flourish under Unai Emery in the first team, rather than regress.
The Spanish coach has bought a talented midfielder in Grzegorz Krychowiak, adding him to Verratti, Blaise Matuidi and Thiago Motta. But Rabiot should take that as a challenge, rather than an indication that he isn’t wanted.
Rabiot has everything needed to be the face of the club, it is just up to him how he pushes on and develops.
One thing that has seemingly changed during the summer is the style of this PSG side without Ibrahimovic.
We are only four games into the Emery era, but the Parisians look a little slicker and a little quicker under the Spaniard. Playing 4-2-3-1, the full-backs look to have more licence to bomb forward, with Layvin Kurzawa, Serge Aurier and Thomas Meunier all finding the net this summer.
“Winning is important for the confidence, to make progress and to create a team,” admitted Emery after the 4-0 win over Leicester City.
We have done some good tactical, psychological and physical work. And it showed out on the pitch. We played some good football. I’m very happy with the four matches we’ve played in the pre-season. The season begins next week with very important match. We played with experience even though we fielded quite a few young players. With the new recruits, we’re going to have a good team.
Di Maria looked sharp against the Foxes, and handing him the keys to the attack will be another major feature in helping the club move on from the Swedish talisman.
Rather than just replacing Zlatan with a big-name signing, another way to move on is to build a more effective and dangerous style in his absence.
If PSG can play at a quicker tempo and with more unpredictability, they will be a much more difficult side to stop. Taking on the top sides with a more direct, aggressive and fluid style will do more to this club’s transformation than any one player will be able to do this season.
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