‘Here we go’ – Reports say PSG is closing deal for a new defender
Early on in the window, PSG was very quiet. Their only action before August 6 was the sales of Marco Asensio and Milan Skriniar to Fenerbahce.
They had been negotiating on the files of Lucas Chevalier and Illya Zabarnyi for seemingly forever, yet the deals never seemed able to clear that final hurdle.
In the past few days, things have sped up tremendously. Journalists have said Chevalier’s deal is ready to be completed, with the player expected in Paris on the night of Thursday, August 8, to do his medical and sign his contract before the end of the week.
Now, Zabarnyi’s deal is said to be nearing the finish line as well, with Fabrizio Romano and other sources saying PSG have found agreement with Bournemouth.
Zabarnyi to PSG is almost complete
The player and PSG have had an agreement going back to June, so all it took was for PSG to find an agreement with Bournemouth. The English club had already lost Dean Huijsen to Real Madrid, so convincing them to sell their other starting center back would not be easy.
Luis Campos showed patience, whittled down the fee, and now eventually found agreement around 67 million Euros.
The initial fee that Bournemouth wanted was around 80 million Euros, so this was solid work by Campos to save some money.
The Ukrainian is a talented 22-year-old center back who brings much-needed physicality to the PSG backline. Neither Marquinhos nor Willian Pacho are very strong in aerial duels, and that is one of Zabarnyi’s strengths.
What comes next for PSG?
With Chevalier and Zabarnyi’s deals nearly done, there is a chance we see no more additions for PSG this summer.
When you have a team so good that they set a record for most Ballon d’Or nominations while also receiving countless other award nominations, it is simply very hard to improve that team.
They might have some sales to make, and the signing of Zabarnyi could also mean a current PSG defender could be leaving the club.
