How Would PSG Cope Without Zlatan Ibrahimovic This Season?

The brand new Ligue 1 season kicks off on Friday as champions Paris Saint-Germain travel to Lille, but they will have to begin their season without Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Reports in the Guardian suggest a knock picked up in the Trophee des Champions victory over Lyon will see the Swedish striker sit out until the opening home game against Gazelec Ajaccio on August 16.

This is not the only doubt surrounding the talismanic forward going into the new season, with rumours of a possible return to AC Milan, per Miles Chambers of Goal.com, refusing to go away. There is no guarantee that he will be part of Laurent Blanc’s squad come September 2.

A player with his incredible presence and undoubted ability would be a huge gap to fill, but PSG would be able to cope with his departure this summer.

After moving to 4-3-1-2 in the latter part of campaign last season, without having to worry about how Zlatan and Edinson Cavani play together in the team, Blanc would be able to move back to his favoured 4-3-3 formation without a second thought.

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The Uruguayan striker would become the undisputed No.9 forward, with no real competition to fight for that central role. Jean-Christophe Bahebeck and Jean-Kevin Augustin are young exciting talents, but they would be playing back-up.

PSG would likely delve into the transfer market for a replacement, but with no one able to step into Ibrahimovic’s boots, they wouldn’t have to look for a world-class striker, but just someone that could offer an option away from El Matador without breaking the bank.

They would be looking for someone to come in and add 10 goals a season, with the hope that, given more responsibility and time through the centre, Cavani would score over 20 league goals this season.

Once his move is confirmed, Angel Di Maria would slot in on the wing, becoming the left-sided player that Blanc has been looking for, with either Lucas Moura or Javier Pastore playing on the right of the front three.

If the stories linking Thiago Motta with a move away from Paris, per Inside Spanish Football, conclude with the Italian leaving PSG, the departure of Ibrahimovic would cause a shift in power behind the scenes too. With both players gone, there would be no doubt that Blanc would be calling the shots in the dressing room. That power struggle began to shift in the second half of last season, but with two of the most vocal and senior members of the squad gone, Blanc would have less resistance in the locker room.

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At his very best, Ibrahimovic is a marketing dream. His name and face are globally recognised and not many players hold the same sway with advertisers. However, last season, he also showed the dark side that his antics can lead to.

There is no such thing as bad publicity, but as PSG try to build their global brand, some of the press Ibra created last season was far from the image the club are trying to create.

PSG’s focus would likely move more towards the on-pitch side, pushing the team forward for further success. There is a feeling around the club—not to suggest that Ibrahimovic is holding them back—but that this is just phase one. The club from the French capital won’t be able to create a new era until Ibrahimovic moves on.

The most likely scenario is that Ibrahimovic stays at the club until the end of his contract in 2016, and PSG move on from there, but until he is there at the end of the transfer window, the rumours will continue to link him with a summer move this year.

When Ibrahimovic left Italy's fashion capital for Barcelona in the summer of 2009, Inter went on to lift the league and the Champions League that season. Then, after 12 months in Spain, the Swede moved back to Italy with Milan, and Barcelona also went on to lift both the La Liga title, and Europe’s greatest prize.

As American author Paul Auster once said, “We are continually shaped by the forces of coincidence.”