If things went slightly different in January of 2019, Julian Weigl would be a Paris Saint-Germain player and celebrating a UEFA Champions League win over his former team, Borussia Dortmund.
The link between Weigl and PSG goes back to 2018 when his former manager at Dortmund, Thomas Tuchel, took over for Unai Emery.
Once Tuchel takes over at #PSG, he wants to improve three areas says Les Parisien. Left-back, centre-back and in midfield.
He was Philipp Max to come in at LB, Toprak at CB then Weigl and Meyer in the middle.
— The Gib Show 🦄 (@Gibney_A) April 25, 2018
A deal never materialized but in a recent interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung (via Culture PSG), Weigl explained that he was very close to joining PSG in 2019 before ultimately landing at SL Benfica last January.
“Last winter, I received an offer from PSG that I wanted to accept and for which I fought. But Borussia closed the door completely when I left and I understood the club. We had a good chance of becoming German champions, many central defenders were injured.”
Weigl continued by discussing what made PSG an attractive team to play for.
“The prospect of going to PSG, of finding a coach who knows what is expected of you and who allows you to develop, it was very tempting…Going on strike or going to clash, it was out of the question.”
If you remember, January of 2019 is the transfer window where PSG signed Leandro Paredes from FC Zenit Saint Petersburg for €40 million. Weigl joined Benfica a year later for €20 million and while Paredes is starting to turn the corner, you can’t help but think this was a missed opportunity for both the player and PSG.
Weigl would be an ideal signing right now as PSG looks for a tall midfielder to add to their squad. It might be a transfer worth revisiting with Benfica when the summer transfer window opens.
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