Paris Saint-Germain has learned its lesson. A year after making the whole of Europe laugh by missing, with the somewhat sadistic assistance of Chelsea, the transfer of Hakim Ziyech on the gong, this time the Rouge et Bleu did not wait until the last minute to make their purchases by signing the Brazilian doublet Gabriel Moscardo-Lucas Beraldo. Respectively arriving from Corinthians and Sao Paulo, the two kids aged 18 and 20 landed in Paris on Friday in order to sign a five-year contract with the capital club and the two transfers are each estimated at 20 million euros. According to Fabrizio Romano, transfer doctor, the formalization will not take place until next week. Anyway, with these two kids in the pocketPSG is thus reviving a sporting policy of purchasing young prospects from Latin America that has been somewhat abandoned in recent years.
Enough to give back a little pride to Parisian supporters, who had gotten into the bad habit lately of seeing the best gems on the planet slip through their fingers. And the latest one, which dates back almost ten years to the day, and which Paris had managed to wrest for a large check of 40 million euros, in this case Lucas Moura, was not the success of the century despite our reckless efforts to pass him off as the new Neymar.
If the Park will remember this forever almost-goal-of-the-century-but-Rod-Fanni-you-know, a chilly Classic evening against OM in the Coupe de France, it must be admitted that PSG has rarely had a hollow nose when it comes to plundering the American continent of its best veins. And when we know that the last Brazilian double brought back by PSG in their bag in the middle of winter is none other than Everton-Souza, aka Shirley and Dino, an unnamed fiasco signed Alain Roche, the sports director at the time in 2008 , we allow ourselves to delay any inconsiderate flaming.
Big potential (on paper)
Even if, for once, Luis Campos and PSG seem to have hit the mark with Moscardo and Belardo, at least on paper. If it is always risky to draw plans on the comet by stuffing yourself with skills straight out of YouTube, we defy anyone not to feel anything while watching the exploits of Moscardo in recovering the ball, in a defensive midfielder role in which he is flourishing this season with Corinthians. In a no-frills style, the young boy seems to find his reason for living in sliding tackles and authoritarian “retrieving the ball” from the opposing feet, while not being devoid of technical qualities in the restart and possessing a quality obvious passing and hitting.
Launched this summer among the pros in the first team, the boy, who immediately established himself in midfield, will however need a little time to acclimatize to the physical intensity of the French championship. He whose slightly frail physique could cough when it comes to fighting with the lads of L1, on the frozen grounds in January. “Of course he will have to adapt,” admitted the former Manceau Grafite, now a consultant in Brazil, to our colleagues at The Team. But his pep, his dynamism, his ability to move forward can very well help PSG. He reminds me of Verratti at the start of his career. He was also very young when he arrived, right? “. Affirmative.
Paris (re)focuses on youth
Lucas Beraldo should have no problem quickly getting into the deep end of the Farmers League, he who “already” has more than 50 professional matches in Brazil and who shows astonishing maturity for his age, at a central defender position which requires a lot of bottle. “I like this player, he is intelligent, positions himself well. I see a future for him within the Seleçao. In any case, he has the potential to claim it. He is already mature for his age and I don’t see why he would need six months to adapt,” explains Carlos Mozer, the former “Sheriff” of OM from 1989 to 1992, in The Team on Friday.
Already considered one of the references of the Brazilian championship, Beraldo is promised a great future according to Carlos Belmonte, director of football of São Paulo, who assured in the local press that “what Beraldo does on the field is out of the ordinary, It’s time to give him a chance with the A selection.” While waiting to apply for Seleçao, the two men will first have to seduce Luis Enrique and try to grab playing time in a Parisian team still deprived of Fabian Ruiz in the middle and Presnel Kimpembe in defense.
For their part, the public at the Park should give them a warm welcome, having forged such a special relationship with the Samba players over the years. And if he will also have to be patient with these young boys full of future, while waiting for the return of in its sports policy in order to build a competitive team in the years to come.