PSG Face Tough Choice Between Fabio Coentrao and Layvin Kurzawa

We have entered the last week of the summer transfer window, and Paris Saint-Germain are looking to finalise a deal that will end a three-way left-back love triangle and complete their squad before Friday’s Champions League draw.

Lucas Digne is set to confirm his loan move to Serie A side AS Roma until the end of the season, as per L’Equipe (in French). The 22-year-old left-back is hoping it will bring him more opportunities for first-team football and the chance to win back his place in Didier Deschamps' France squad for the 2016 European Championships.

As Digne leaves the club, Laurent Blanc is looking for a replacement, but not just a sub, someone that can enhance the squad and help with their quest for progression in the Champions League.

So far they have been linked with nearly every left-back with two legs, but Sevilla’s Benoit Tremoulinas, per Ian Holyman of ESPN FC, Fabio Coentrao of Real Madrid, via the Daily Express and AS Monaco’s Layvin Kurzawa, as per FourFourTwo, have been the most common—with the latter two seemingly the preferred options for the Ligue 1 champions.

In the long-term, there is little doubt that the Monaco full-back is the best choice. However, Monaco are holding out for a huge offer and the Parisians don’t seem keen on making a substantial outlay at this stage of the window.

Kurzawa is a France international and has all the attributes to become Les Bleus' first-choice for the foreseeable future.

He was superb as Monaco went from Ligue 1 new boys to runners-up during the 2013/14 season. His marauding runs down the left became a feature of their play and his attacking instincts helped break down stubborn teams and gave Claudio Ranieri’s side another dimension.

Last season he didn’t quite live up to those standards, although injury hampered his progress, plus the controversy over his involvement in France’s under-21 side being eliminated by Sweden in a tight play-off took its toll.

The Monaco youth product is a much underrated defender, but catches the eye with his athletic ability and attacking instincts. There is little doubt that he would suit the PSG style and would likely excel in the team, but although Digne is not as agile, both players have their similarities.

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Digne hasn’t played due to the form of Brazilian veteran Maxwell, and that isn’t likely to change as the season progresses. It would only likely be due to injuries that the new left-back played any more than Digne was allowed last campaign.

This is where Fabio Coentrao comes into the picture and actually makes much more sense at this stage of his and Maxwell’s career. Similar to Digne’s move to Roma, Coentrao would move on a season-long loan from Real Madrid, giving Blanc another option at left-back.

In La Liga last season, the 27-year-old only played nine times, with just five from the start. For a player that was once judged as being one of the best at his position, even playing the same amount of minutes as Digne managed last season would be progress for the former Benfica man.

Even in 2012/13, Coentrao made only 17 starts, the best since he made his move to Madrid in 2011. At this stage in his career, he needs a move to try and win more game time. He would likely settle in quickly, with a huge number of the PSG back line speaking Portuguese, it’s a move that makes perfect sense.

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Coentrao adds instant experience from playing in the Champions League for the last five seasons. That means that Blanc doesn’t need to just use him to rest Maxwell in the league, the Portuguese defender is able to step straight in and help rest the Brazilian and keep him fresh during what is the last year of his contract.

At this stage of his career, Coentrao has at least three or four years left at the top level, and is a mere six years younger than Maxwell.

It also means that if Digne decides to return from Roma after his loan spell, PSG would have two very competitive full-backs in the squad and the young French defender would have someone else he could learn from and battle with for the starting position.

At a club like PSG, they can’t afford to have too many players that are guaranteed first-team football. This often leads to complacency and stale performances. In a competition like Ligue 1, where PSG are by far the most talented, strongest and dominant side, they at least need the players to be competing with each other—if the opposition challenge is to lack the same intensity.

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In event of Monaco going out to Valencia tonight, L'Equipe say PSG expected to make offer worth around the €25m asking price for Kurzawa.

— Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip) August 25, 2015"

Reports in French news outlets like L’Equipe suggest that Kurzawa is PSG’s No. 1 option—which is understandable—but any move for one of Monaco’s best players to a direct rival would be drastic news for the league as a whole.

In order to believe there is some level of competition at the top of the table, the league cannot afford for the second-place favorites to sell one of their talented stars to the team in first. It makes a mockery of the division.

Monaco’s project, with the departures of Geoffrey Kondogbia to Inter, Yannick Ferreira Carrasco to Atletico Madrid and the possible move of Aymen Abdennour this summer, per Joe Short at the Express, makes great business sense. Sell for a profit and replace with the best young talent in France, but you can’t help strengthen the team you are hoping to catch with one of your best players.

If a club outside of France was able to put in an acceptable bid for Kurzawa, there is no problem in the Monegasque club selling and letting him go, but they have to resist any offer from PSG.

Even for the Parisians themselves, they cannot continue to purely sell their club on the prospect of Champions League glory. There has to be some element of weekly competition to entice players to make a move to the French capital.

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Plundering your direct rivals, similar to Bayern Munich’s moves for Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski from Borussia Dortmund, not only can cause serious damage to the selling club, but it can harm your potential as a club.

The Bundesliga is lucky that it has other teams that can pick up the baton and challenge FC Bayern, but with Marseille in a state of flux and Lyon perhaps struggling with second-season syndrome, PSG needs a strong Monaco side to help push them every week and keep them on your toes.

If clubs are not given a stern test every week, even if that is just the pressure of having to win every week, then similar to Celtic in the Scottish league, it becomes very difficult to raise your game when the Champions League games roll around.

Both Kurzawa and Coentrao are excellent defenders, but for the best of the club and Ligue 1, the right move would be for Blanc to make a move for the Portuguese international this summer.