Strengths and Weaknesses of PSG Transfer Target Kevin Trapp
Paris Saint-Germain completed the signing of Eintracht Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp on Wednesday, with the talented young net minder signing a five-year contract at Parc des Princes.
The 25-year-old will provide competition for the French champions’ current starting 'keeper, Italy international Salvatore Sirigu, according to Les Parisiens' coach Laurent Blanc when he spoke with PSG.fr (in French) shortly after Trapp's arrival was confirmed.
If the Azzurri man’s shaky form from last season continues, Le President may well replace the 28-year-old with the German on a more permanent basis.
Trapp is highly rated in his home country, and many see him as a possible long-term successor to Bayern Munich’s Manuel Neuer in the national team.
However, with competition from the likes of Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Bayer Leverkusen’s Bernd Leno to be the former Schalke 04 man’s ultimate replacement, it is not certain that Trapp will ever feature for Die Nationalelf.
The man who launched his career with 1. FC Kaiserslautern will take over from Nicolas Douchez immediately as one of the team’s two goalkeepers and should expect regular games in at least Ligue 1 or the UEFA Champions League and both domestic cups.
Here is a look at some of Trapp’s strengths and weaknesses.
Strength: Shot Stopper
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Trapp is fearless when inside his own penalty area and PSG will benefit from having a goalkeeper who can react quickly to different situations and put himself in harm's way.
The German is a renowned shot stopper and boasts good vision that enables him to make strong saves from all varieties of shots on goal. The 25-year-old’s great reflexes enable him to thwart opponents' chances from in and outside the box.
Trapp is equally adept at pulling off crowd-pleasing, acrobatic saves as he is doing the basics well and not attempting anything too risky.
Weakness: Positioning
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Although Trapp anticipates chances well, he still occasionally puts himself in awkward positions and fails to prevent goals from being scored. However, Frankfurt's leaky defensive unit was a big part of that problem.
Despite the occasional error, his positioning is not a major drawback, and he has greatly improved in this area since the 2013-14 season.
There are few goalkeepers in the Bundesliga who are tougher to beat and only Manuel Neuer and Marc-Andre ter Stegen are realistically ahead of him in the national team pecking order, although Bayer Leverkusen's Bernd Leno is equally strong competition for the role.
Strength: Aerial Ability
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Trapp is extremely strong in the air. One of Salvatore Sirigu’s main weaknesses is his inability to claim high balls into his box with any real authority.
That is not a problem for the Frankfurt man, who is a very well-rounded goalkeeper and the German will provide a reassuring presence at the back for his new team when he plucks the ball out of the air with confidence.
A tall and imposing figure, Trapp will not cause the PSG defence the same anxious moments that Sirigu has been guilty of at times.
Weakness: Punching
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One of Salvatore Sirigu’s main strengths is his ability to punch the ball clear to safety. His tendency to overuse that skill also makes it one of his weaknesses too, though, as he often opts to punch the ball when catching would be more effective.
Trapp is more balanced and attempts to catch the ball where possible, but he is not as adept at punching the ball as the Italian.
Although it is not a major weakness of his, it is something that could occasionally present opponents with chances to score if he does not deal with balls in from either side properly.
Strength: Leadership
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Few players become captain of their club side at 24 years old and even fewer young goalkeepers receive that honour.
Trapp is one of the rare net minders to have taken on the armband at such a tender age and he has shown no ill-effects from that.
The Frankfurt No. 1 dealt with the pressure of arriving at Commerzbank-Arena from Eintracht's rivals Kaiserslautern and not only dislodged club legend Oka Nikolov, he then made it to captain once Pirmin Scwegler departed for 1899 Hoffenheim last summer.
Trapp will bring plenty of authority and leadership to his new role.
His commanding approach might come as something of a surprise for his PSG teammates compared with Sirigu, but as captain at the Commerzbank Arena, the German was required to be in regular communication with his teammates.
However, it will be Trapp's actions and not his words that will really win him respect at Parc des Princes.
Weakness: Communication
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If Trapp can speak French, that will immediately be a bonus for PSG and it will ease his integration into the squad. However, that does not mean that he will necessarily be able to communicate more clearly with his defence.
PSG’s back line is regularly made up of at least three Brazilians out of a possible four. On occasions, the rear guard has even had an exclusive samba flavour.
It could take Trapp some time to build up his understanding with the likes of captain Thiago Silva and fellow Selecao stars David Luiz and Marquinhos, who all operate in their native Portuguese.
Strength: Surprisingly Technical
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Although it will not be immediately evident as Trapp will be spending his time between the sticks, the German is surprisingly technical and should demonstrate this over time.
Like national team No. 1 Manuel Neuer, although not as spectacular in style, the 25-year-old is no stranger to coming out of his goal to get involved in the action.
Trapp's technical ability will enable the PSG defence to utilise him more than they do Sirigu when passing around their own penalty area and building from the back.
Weakness: Lack of International Experience
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Trapp is, by all accounts, a well-rounded goalkeeper with few genuine weak areas in his game.
However, one aspect of his development that may well be stunted is his level of international experience.
Despite being one of the Bundesliga's best shot stoppers, the 24-year-old is yet to make debut at senior level after coming through the youth ranks.
As long as Manuel Neuer remains the imperious figure that he is for Bayern Munich and Germany, Trapp will likely continue to miss out on a crucial stage of development through no real fault of his own.
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