Can PSG afford to lose Nuno Mendes?

AAccording to French media RMC, Nuno Mendes wants to leave the club. This news came as a shock as his contract extension was supposed to be signed soon. However, reports from differents sources said that the negotiations between each part stopped and could possibly not resume with the player already looking for a way out of the club.

The Portugal international's contract is set to expire in June 2026 and he is considered as one of the best left back in the world since joining Les Parisiens in 2021 from Sporting CP. He was supposed to be one of the faces of PSG's new era and that would be a huge blow to see the Portuguese depart the club.

Can PSG afford to lose Nuno Mendes?

The answer to this question is pretty easy. No, Paris Saint-Germain cannot afford to lose him, Nuno Mendes is one of the best at his position in Europe and has plenty of talent which will likely see him progress even more. Despite many injury setbacks in his parisian adventure, the former Sporting CP player showed a tremendous amount of talent whether it was offensively and defensively. His ability to go forward and bring danger from his left flank is already one of the best in the continent.

No real alternative within the squad

The chances of seeing Mendes leaving the club in the next transfer window are very low. However, to prepare his possible departure if there is no positive evolution in his contract talks. Paris would have to look at internal options first. But the ssquad lacks of a real back-up for the Portuguese with Beraldo taking place at the left back position when Luis Enrique rotate his players. The Brasilian who is naturally a centre back has had poor outings in this position, failling to weigh offensively and sometimes struggled on the defensive end as well.

The other alternative within the team would Lucas Hernandez who just came back from an ACL injury. The France international has the advantage to have played in this position regularly and won a World Cup with France in the role, however, coming back from this type of injury is difficult and his form will need to be assessed in the fufuture.

External alternative

The 22-year-old is also perfect in Luis Enrique's system with a great balance with Achraf Hakimi on the opposite side of the pitch. His position gives to his winger all the liberty to cut inside and create goalscoring opportunities. Which something that was profitable for Bradley Barcola and Désiré Doué so far this season. Furthermore, the only other alternative could be Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies, though, he seems promised to a move to Real Madrid with his contract expiring at the end of the season.

Overall, losing Nuno Mendes, could be a huge blow for PSG as they just started a new era following the departure of Kylian Mbappé. The Portuguese is without a doubt an important piece of Luis Enrique's system and it would be nearly impossible to find a decent replacement to this type of player whether it is from within the squad or on the market.