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Jude Bellingham is just what PSG need, but is a deal realistic?
Signing a player of Bellingham’s quality would be a massive coup for PSG, and maybe it’s something they’ll look at if more clubs start dropping out of the running for the Borussia Dortmund midfielder. We’ve already seen Liverpool leaving the race for Bellingham, but if top clubs are deciding to drop out of this deal then it’s because the asking price from Dortmund is probably on the exorbitant side.
Personally, I’d be surprised if it came to the point where PSG strongly considered making a move. He’d be ideal for PSG in many ways because he ticks a lot of boxes in terms of what they’re looking for to rebuild their midfield, but he also doesn’t fit in many ways with what they’re trying to put in place with a new culture built mostly around young French talent, and specifically talent hailing from the Paris region where possible. As much as Bellingham and his quality would be welcome at PSG if the opportunity arose, I don’t particularly think the chances are high. If they did make that move they’d have to make some major financial sacrifices, and they wouldn’t have much room for manoeuvre in other areas of the team, when the reality is that PSG have a lot of work to do this summer to pretty much rebuild this team from top to bottom.
In terms of midfield players that I do know PSG really like, Khephren Thuram of Nice is definitely up there. They’d be very interested in trying to bring him in, though it’s not clear how straightforward the relationship between the two clubs will be because of Christophe Galtier. Seko Fofana is another player they could revisit after his good season at Lens, even if he’s not been quite at the level of previous seasons. Thuram and Fofana, rather than Bellingham, are more the kind of profile PSG are interested in.
Will PSG strengthen in defence?
There have been links between PSG and Alessandro Bastoni, and I’m pretty sure it’s not the first time we’ve seen him mentioned as a target for them. In terms of bringing in a big name in defence, we know Milan Skriniar is already set to join on a free transfer from Inter Milan, and I think PSG will continue to prioritise players like that, where they won’t need to worry about negotiating a transfer fee.
Skriniar, despite not having a transfer fee, still has a significant pay packet, so I think that might limit what PSG can do with someone like Bastoni, who is under contract and a key part of this Inter side who are now doing very well, making it to the semi-finals of the Champions League, unexpectedly so. For me, I find it hard to see Bastoni to PSG coming off.
One option PSG might be more interested in is someone like Evan Ndicka, who is French, from the Paris region, and is available on a free this summer, though he might not be available for that long if he gets snapped up by one of the numerous other European clubs looking at him.
Folarin Balogun could replace Arkadiusz Milik at Marseille
Arkadiusz Milik is being strongly linked with making his loan move from Marseille to Juventus permanent. I think they could have been a good match because Marseille needed that established source of goals in attack, a real recognised number 9. Perhaps they’ll now have that in Vitinha, who’s starting to score a bit more.
In terms of Milik, it does sound like his time at OM is done, and if Juve can get a permanent deal done then they’d be ready to do so. We often see Marseille move players on after a year or two, their players don’t stay for that long, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see Milik return to Italy.
In terms of replacing the Poland international, I think a lot of what they do in the transfer market will depend on where they finish in Ligue 1. They’re currently in a battle to finish in the top two, as they compete with Lens for a place just behind PSG. I think if they do manage to get that runners-up spot, they could try for something big, and there have been whispers that they’re very keen on Folarin Balogun, the Arsenal loanee doing very well on loan in Ligue 1 with Reims this season.
I think Milik could be the kind of player Marseille try to move on in order to make a move for someone like Balogun if possible. Given the track record Marseille have of loaning players from Arsenal and then either signing them permanently or sending them back more first-team ready to Arsenal, I think this definitely could be an interesting option for the Gunners to explore.
Balogun will feel that, given his performances this season, he deserves to have a go as a starting striker somewhere, but it’s also difficult to justify starting him ahead of the other quality players they have in that position at Arsenal. So another loan move and European experience could be good for him, with that not an option for him if he stays at Reims, which now seems to be being ruled out anyway. Arteta might want to take a look at Balogun in pre-season to see what kind of level he’s at, but it then gives them the opportunity to loan him to another club later in the summer.
It’s also worth noting that Balogun has spoken positively about Marseille as a club, the atmosphere at the Stade Velodrome, so it looks like it’s a place he can imagine himself playing, and it looks like he’s open to staying in France after doing so well there this season. But, with respect to Reims and what they’ve achieved under Will Still, I think it’s time for Balogun to try stepping up a level and challenging himself in European football, which he could do at Marseille.
William Saliba absence being felt – his time at Marseille showed he was set for Arsenal stardom
It speaks volumes about William Saliba that he’s been so badly missed by Arsenal during his recent struggle with injury. Though to be honest, it was clear from watching him on loan at Marseille last season, with the impact he had, that he was ready to go back to Arsenal and play regularly, or indeed move elsewhere. He’s still young, but he’s been highly regarded for a long time, and already looked a very polished defender last season.
I’m not too surprised by the impact he’s had, we’ve known for a long time in France that he’s a top prospect and we got a sneak preview of how good he can really be in the second half of the season he spent on loan at Nice, where he formed a strong partnership with Jean-Clair Todibo. I think his loan at Marseille then really cemented his place in Arsenal’s plans and also proved key in strengthening the strategic relationship between the two clubs.
A lot of clubs wanted him before he went to Arsenal as well. Clubs are well aware of the talent coming through at Saint-Etienne, like Wesley Fofana, who’s now at Chelsea, and previously Kurt Zouma a few years before that. There were a handful of top European clubs who were interested in him at that time, PSG were one of those, but Arsenal ended up winning that race for his signature. To this day he still attracts a lot of interest from across Europe because he’s an elite defensive talent.
It is interesting to see him developing some injury problems back at Arsenal because it’s not something that really affected him too much in the early years of his career in France. Obviously, it’s far from ideal timing for Arsenal that he’s having these issues now, and you’d hope that it doesn’t derail their title challenge too much after all that positive momentum they’d built up with him in the team.
They’re facing a key run of games now and they look like they need him back, though of course rushing him to return to the team has its own risks in terms of long-term damage, so they’ll need to manage this situation carefully. If they can get him back, he’ll be a very important player towards the end of this season and next season as well when they’re most likely back in the Champions League. They’ll also no doubt be working hard to tie him down to a new contract soon to ensure he’s one of the cornerstones of this team for many years to come.
Where next for Jonathan David?
Jonathan David’s name is making headlines again after a return to form, and from my understanding he’s always prioritised a transfer to England or Spain for his next move. I think big clubs from those leagues will have the upper hand over Bundesliga clubs like Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig.
Fabrizio Romano has said David is probably too expensive for Leipzig, and I understand Bayern have looked at him, so we’ll see if that interest arises again this summer, but they could certainly do with a proven source of goals. He’s been in better form of late, and I expect he’ll push harder for a move this summer having already been linked with a move away in the last year or two.
Even if his preference is for the Premier League or La Liga, I can see him ticking a lot of boxes for Bayern, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens with this one.