What Will Be PSG's Strongest Defence in the 2015-16 Season?
Like last pre-season, Paris Saint-Germain will not be at full strength until the new Ligue 1 campaign is pretty much upon them.
Because of this summer’s Copa America, Thiago Silva, David Luiz, Marquinhos, Edinson Cavani, Javier Pastore and Ezequiel Lavezzi are not expected to report for training until the International Champions Cup (ICC) is well underway in America.
Because they went all the way to the final with Argentina, El Flaco and El Pocho are likely to miss the majority of the ICC and might only be back in time for the final fixture against Manchester United in Chicago.
However, Les Parisiens’ Brazilian trio and Uruguayan star Cavani are expected to arrive in the USA sometime between PSG’s opening game against SL Benfica in Toronto and their second fixture against Fiorentina in New Jersey.
That means coach Laurent Blanc will still be without any of his three first-choice central defenders until at least clash with the Italians.
In the 3-0 win over Wiener Sportklub in Austria on Sunday, Le President utilised right-back Serge Aurier in his secondary role as a centre-back alongside youth-academy starlet Presnel Kimpembe. It is likely to be the same formula used against Benfica this coming weekend.
After that clash with the Portuguese though, Silva, Luiz and Marquinhos should be available to Blanc once again and the 49-year-old can start shaping his defence ahead of the new season.
Unless the Frenchman opts for a drastic change in tactics, captain Thiago Silva will be one of the starting members of a back four. Despite a mixed Copa America campaign that ended acrimoniously for the Brazilian, the 30-year-old enjoyed a solid last season for PSG.
Silva will hope to start the coming campaign better than the last one, when he picked up an early injury in a poorly-timed friendly against SSC Napoli once the Ligue 1 season had already kicked off. It ultimately kept him out of action for two months, forcing Luiz and Marquinhos to play through the pain barrier at time to replace him.
After Silva, fellow Brazilian and left-back Maxwell can be confident of his place in Blanc’s starting XI after signing a one-year contract extension earlier this year. Lucas Digne has started pre-season well, as if he has a point to prove, but the South American is almost certain to start the new term ahead of him.
Switching to the right and Blanc has a choice between Aurier, Marquinhos and Gregory van der Wiel.
Towards the end of last season, the Ivorian put in a series of impressive performances and looked to have secured the starting role at right-back ahead of Van der Wiel. With the Netherlands international out of contract next summer, it is possible that he is moved on before the start of the new campaign.
Aurier will probably start the season as Blanc’s right-back of choice, but Marquinhos may be preferred for some big matches if the Brazilian is not given a starting central role.
With three of four positions taken care of, the last starting berth will be between Luiz and Marquinhos. A lot in this situation will depend on Thiago Motta and whether or not the Italy international stays at PSG this summer.
If Motta remains at Parc des Princes, then Luiz will almost certainly be Silva’s defensive partner and Marquinhos will have to apply pressure on both of them in order to get his chances.
However, all three central defenders have a history of injuries and fitness concerns, so it is highly likely that there will be a regular rotation in this position. There is also the threat that two or more of Silva, Luiz and Marquinhos could be injured at the same time.
If this was to happen, youngster Kimpembe would step in to fill one of the gaps, but Blanc would arguably still be one player short.
Because of this constant injury threat and the possible departures of Digne and Van der Wiel before the end of the current transfer window, PSG could do with obtaining a polyvalent defender who can play one of the two full-back roles—preferably left—as well as a central berth.
If Motta does end up leaving 12 months before his contract is due to expire, that is when things could get interesting.
As we saw last season when PSG played Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League and then AS Monaco in Ligue 1 in relatively quick succession, Luiz stepped in to fill Motta’s defensive midfield role and fared well.
If Motta was to leave, the French champions will be in the market for a new midfielder anyway after Yohan Cabaye’s move to Crystal Palace, but they could opt to replace the Italian with a new defender instead.
Luiz could move forward from defence to cover the loss of Motta and Marquinhos would finally get the starting role that his ability now commands.
It appears likely that it will be Silva, Luiz, Maxwell and Aurier who comprise Blanc’s first-choice starting back four for now. However, Motta’s future could hold the key to this and his departure would open up a permanent starting role for Marquinhos.
If that happens, then it will create a back four of Silva, Marquinhos, Maxwell and Aurier and that is arguably PSG’s strongest defensive line-up.
Marquinhos is too good to not feature in the starting XI and Motta’s departure might take a sizeable chunk of experience and a metronomic presence out of the midfield, but it would actually make the French capital outfit more solid and impenetrable at the back.
The next few weeks and the ICC matches in the USA will give everyone a better idea of whether there are any major defensive changes afoot with the new season rapidly approaching.
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