Luis Campos already working to land young center-back from Croatia
Even though the record-breaking 11th Ligue 1 title is not yet a lock for Paris Saint-Germain to win, the Parisian board never stops plotting new transfers and they are already working on landing the next wave of superstars to fill boost their Instagram account follower numbers. Or are they?
According to the latest reports, PSG might actually be trying to change their "superstar-based model" and instead move on to a new one based around young players that can provide goodies for longer periods of time and grow with the club.
That is what RMC Sport reported on Monday when the French media outlet wrote a note about PSG's sporting director following the 16-year-old Croatian defender Luka Vuskovic from Hajduk Split. Not a typo, folks.
PSG has seemingly gone from pursuing the signatures of Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos, both into their 30s, to chasing players not even allowed to buy a beer in most places. How things have changed...
Do PSG want to build a Champions League squad... or a fancy kindergarten?
This would mark an entirely new approach to conducting business in the capital, of course, and it's not really clear if it would help PSG to reach the heights the club have always chased--in other words, winning the Champions League.
What good can a super-teenager do to PSG? Seriously, think about it for a second. PSG, mind you, is now trying to repatriate Xavi Simons (19 years old) after ditching him a year ago and blocking his path toward first-team apps not long ago.
Simons, again, was 18 years old back then. If Simons, a world-renowned talent who is setting the Dutch Eredivisie on fire couldn't even crack the first team bench a year or two ago, what are the expectations for a 16-year-old center-back that will need to go through the growing pains for two or five seasons before solidifying himself in the PSG starting XI?
One thing is to change the model, another to go wild and crazy and play two entirely different games that would lead to clearly diverging places. There will be homegrown talent if/when acquiring and using 16-year-old players. There will not be, I can guarantee, a UEFA Champions League title arriving in Paris for another decade if not more.
Luka Vuskovic, from Hajduk Split, could be a nice addition to have and stash in the Academy ranks for a few seasons before truly deploying him. At the end of the day, RMC is reporting interest from the likes of Man City, so there must be something in him. Nothing has been signed yet and discussions have not really gone past an initial stage, wrote RMC.
Luis Campos is aiming at landing players that fit the "French, young" profile that PSG want to use next. He should think about where that approach will lead the club in the short term.