PSG's Lack of Alternatives Leaves Them Stuck with Edinson Cavani

No one forgets anything in football. Anything you say or write will be saved, bookmarked and kept in a safe place. Then, when the moment is right, it will be used against you.

"I sometimes feel that the media does not see things well," Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi told Le Parisien (h/t Goal.com) this summer.  "He [Ibrahimovic] was a scorer, a great scorer. [But Edinson] Cavani is one of the best in the world. Watch his goals throughout his career. Cavani is one of the best in this position, why look elsewhere?"

The president was talking after Ibrahimovic had confirmed he would leave the French capital at the end of last season.

We didn't know at this point that the Swede would go on to sign for Manchester United, but we also didn't think the man running Qatar Sports Investments' business at the Parc des Princes was being serious.

"It is a change of the project. We will recruit players who bring more to the team," he continued. "We will look for players who will help the team to take the next steps on the field. We need players who eat the grass, and are ready to die for the club and this jersey."

Once the transfer window closed and it was confirmed that PSG would go into the campaign with Cavani as their No. 9, the analysis began.

They may be weaker in attack—without Zlatan that was always likely to be the case—but if they look stronger as a squad and as a unit, they could mask his absence in numbers.

"If you compare the strength of the squad from last season to this, you have lost Ibra," former PSG and Monaco midfielder Jerome Rothen conceded when speaking on RMC radio (via ESPN FC). "However, there were always question marks over him in the Champions League. We will not complain that he is no longer here.

"They tried to replace [Ibrahimovic] him but they failed in bids to sign Neymar and [Cristiano] Ronaldo, they stayed with their clubs, while Higuain went to Juventus. He [Higuain] should perhaps have been the true No. 9 PSG need. For me, they needed to replace Ibra but they missed their chance."

Cavani missed the season opener with Bastia due to injury, but his shocking performance against Metz in Paris, as discussed here previously, gave fans the chance to demand the club made a move before the window closed.

“Cavani has not been good at all during 2016,” Swedish journalist and Paris Saint-Germain fan Andreas Karlsson told Bleacher Report. “His Copa America was awful and his start of this season hasn't really improved my view on him.

"Some people might argue that he scores a decent amount of goals, and yes he has, but if you look at his chances every game, he should have scored so much more.”

To the people who watch Cavani’s performances week in, week out, take away the basic stat of goals scored—it’s the Uruguayan's overall play that hasn’t convinced most.

“I said this even when PSG signed Cavani back in 2013, he is not a possession-type of player,” continued Karlsson. “Even if PSG changed coach to a more aggressive style, like Emery, from a slow possession-type game with Blanc, PSG will still command a huge amount of possession during their games.

"Also, Cavani doesn't really bring anything to the team when it comes to building up the attack, like for example Zlatan did. And when Cavani doesn't score, well then it doesn't matter if you are the best defender as a striker."

It's easy enough to criticise Cavani and tear his performances apart; it's also too easy to demand the club find a replacement without offering any suggestions.

The stark truth was, with the three players Rothen mentioned all unavailable, there was no one PSG could have moved for who fits what the club wanted or needed. Karlsson disagrees:

"My first choice would've been Lukaku.  18 goals and six assist in the Premier League last season in a poor Everton team, is impressive to me. But also his playing style. He is strong, he is fast for his size, he can head the ball and his technique isn’t that bad either. In a 4-2-3-1 formation he would be the perfect fit for PSG and would offer the team a lot."

The Belgium international would have been a decent option, but with Everton unwilling to sell the former Chelsea man, the price could have been astronomical. With the Express reporting in July that it would cost around £75 million to land the player in the transfer window just gone.

Instead of forcing a move, Lukaku, speaking during the international break, per Het Nieuwsblad (h/t Daily Star), took a more laid-back approach.

"

I knew of the interest of a few clubs, but it was pretty soon clear that Everton would not let me go.

It was important to me that I remained calm and that's what I did. I did not go into conflict. I said to myself: I do my best and who is what happens in the future.

"

One downside to targeting Lukaku would have been his lack of Champions League experience. That’s the main issue that detracts from anyone that would have been available this summer. It’s OK to score goals domestically. Vincent Janssen, previously of AZ Alkmaar and now of Tottenham Hotspur, would have been perfect in that mould.

However, he has shown for Spurs that he will need time to raise his game to the next level.

When you look down a list of the top goalscorers around Europe last season, there is a distinct lack of options for the Parisian club.

They have just lost the man who finished third and the rest of the top 10 were not available at this stage, but perhaps future moves could be on the cards.

Even Benfica's Jonas, scorer of 32 league goals in Portugal, has impressed playing off the main striker, somewhat similar to the role that new signings Jese Rodriguez and Hatem Ben Arfa play.

Alexandre Lacazette was ranked 21st on that list, after scoring 23 goals last season. He was available this summer, but Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas wasn't ready to let his star player leave to his league rivals.

Aulas reportedly turned down a €50 million move from West Ham United, per Sky Sports. It would have likely cost PSG more to lure him away. Again, with limited Champions League experience, it would have been a gamble at the highest level.

The window is now closed, and PSG will go through the season with Cavani leading the attack. He is far from perfect and no matter how many goals he scores in Ligue 1, he could ultimately cost them a place in the latter stages of the Champions League.

PSG’s problem this summer was not that Ibrahimovic left the club, it’s that there were no realistic, ready-made replacements whom they would have been able to bring in.

The landscape could change next summer, but because of the poor competition domestically, they are always going to find it hard to tempt the biggest names.

The focus over the next few years may need to shift towards developing players from the tier below and creating their own superstars, rather than paying over the odds to their rivals.