Time for Paris Saint-Germain to Plan for Life Without Zlatan Ibrahimovic

On Tuesday afternoon, Paris Saint-Germain coach Laurent Blanc revealed that Zlatan Ibrahimovic would miss Wednesday night’s game against Lille.

Concerns over his recovery from the heel injury had resurfaced, and with a vital clash with Barcelona on the horizon, the midweek game could do more harm than good to the Swedish international.

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Zlatan Ibrahimovic OUT of PSG squad to face Lille tomorrow. Yohan Cabaye & Clement Chantome absent. All due to "physical preparation."

— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) December 2, 2014"

As Ibrahimovic misses more and more games this season, now is the time for PSG to plan for life without him.

Speaking to ESPN earlier this year (h/t Miles Chambers of Goal.com), the Swede revealed that he plans to hang up his boots in 2016 and end his career with the Parisian club.

However, the player's agent, Mino Raiola, recently told Foot Express (h/t Get Football News France) that the 33-year-old could go on to extend his current contract:

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He will not want to be on the bench for 28 games a season. But that moment is not now. I would not be surprised if at 40 Zlatan will still be playing. We have decided that we will reflect on the situation season by season, so we are not asking that question at the moment. That he extends until 2018? Everything is possible in life, that too.

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Often clubs are quick to assure fans that no one player is bigger than the club, but at times at the Parc des Princes, there is a feeling that PSG have become very Ibra-dependant.

Instead of waiting for Ibrahimovic to make his mind up—or retire in 2016—PSG and Blanc need to start making plans to move the club forward, with or without the Swedish star.

PSG and Manchester City were two of the first clubs to feel the effects of UEFA’s Financial Fair Play sanctions, limited to a transfer budget of €50 million this summer. They will again be limited next summer, with a budget of €60 million, according to L’Equipe (h/t Foot Mercato, in French).

This gives the PSG hierarchy a dilemma as they look to grow the club.

Francois Mori/Associated Press

Edinson Cavani has six league goals this season, and he is in a rich vein of form at the moment. Ibrahimovic’s goal against Nice brought him level with Cavani, but a hat-trick against Saint-Etienne and a double against Reims on the opening day mean that he has only scored in three of PSG’s 14 league games this campaign.

If the French club genuinely want to grow and become one of Europe’s elite clubs, they need to make plans without Ibrahimovic and bring in support to take some pressure off Cavani's shoulders.

When he is 100 percent fit, Ibrahimovic is still a force to be reckoned with. The only problem for both the Swede and PSG is that it is becoming harder for the forward to find that level of fitness.

Rather than wait for Ibrahimovic to leave before acting, PSG should look to put next summer’s budget toward bringing in a forward to share the burden with Cavani and the Swede.

There are two roads the club could go down.

They could look for a younger, promising forward and use the years before Ibrahimovic leaves to develop the striker and acclimatise him to his new surroundings.

Christophe Ena/Associated Press

On the other hand, they could use the majority of their budget to sign an established forward to come in and instantly provide a top-class alternative.

The second option might be the quickest option, but it will not be cheap. Also, there are very few top-class striker options in European football that would be available for the Parisian club.

One attractive option to PSG would be signing a player like Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette, who has been recently linked to the club, via Foot01 (in French).

The 23-year-old has scored 11 goals in 15 games this season and is one of the top marksmen from around Europe’s top divisions.

Someone like Lacazette would not come cheap, but PSG would pay less than they did for Cavani from Napoli two seasons ago. Lacazette is developing into a wonderful player, and with Lyon wanting to make sure they receive full value for their prized asset, there is a possible deal to be done there.

Adding a French international that knows the domestic league well, with the ability to go on and shine in the Champions League as well, is the perfect type of recruit for the Parisian giants.

As the French club look to grow into one of Europe’s biggest clubs, they need to be mindful of the future as well as the present. That’s why it is now the ideal time to begin planning for life without Zlatan Ibrahimovic.