With eleven former first-team players out on loan this season, Paris Saint-Germain face a busy summer working out the futures of their cohort of “undesirables“, who they were unable to move on permanently last year.
As explained by L’Équipe today, only three players look likely to stay at their host clubs – Mauro Icardi at Galatasaray, Éric-Junior Dina Ebimbe at Eintracht Frankfurt, and potentially Édouard Michut at Sunderland.
As a result, PSG Sporting Advisor Luís Campos has appointed a chief scout, Pasquale Sensibile, who has been tasked with keeping up with the players out on loan, watching their games, and speaking with managers and directors. Among those players are several full internationals – Julian Draxler at Benfica, Georginio Wijnaldum at Roma, Abdou Diallo at Leipzig, Leandro Paredes at Juventus, and Layvin Kurzawa at Fulham. Their return will mean see the club’s wage bill balloon – PSG already cover part of their wages out on loan – and potentially harm the dressing room atmosphere, as is the case especially for Leandro Paredes
Julian Draxler, who has not played since February due to an ankle injury, is set to return for the final year of his PSG contract after a disappointing year at Benfica. Keylor Navas will come back from Nottingham Forest, as will Leandro Paredes after falling out of favour in Turin. Kurzawa, Diallo and Wijnaldum have seen their seasons plagued by injury. Colin Dagba, who is on loan at Strasbourg, has been the subject of interest from a German club, while Dina Ebimbe and Michut are expected to stay at their respective host teams next season.
GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin