There’s no doubt that Thiago Silva, even at 35-years-old, is Paris Saint-Germain’s most valuable defender. He can’t go on forever though and that’s why the club must find a replacement sooner rather than later.
The Brazilian has been a fixture of PSG’s defense for years but he doesn’t have much tread left on the tires. The situation has led to PSG keeping tabs on Inter Milan’s superstar defender.
According to FC InterNews (via SempreInter), the capital club is interested in 24-year-old Milan Škriniar. With Silva’s contract expiring next year, the club will need to find a partner for Marquinhos to command the backline. Although Presnel Kimpembe is having a bounceback season, he hasn’t been consistent enough for PSG to rely 100 percent on him for the future. PSG needs to find someone that can play alongside Maquinhos at an elite level.
Some of the reasons that make Škriniar an attractive target for the reigning French champions are his leadership capabilities. Once Silva leaves, PSG will need a new captain and someone to command the dressing room as a leader. With a team full of so many polarizing personalities, it’s important to have a leader other than the manager. Furthermore, being nearly the same age as Marquinhos, it’s a potential partnership that can become the backbone of PSG’s defense for years to come.
When looking at his defensive numbers, not a lot stands out. Škriniar isn’t an overly physical defender. When looking at his clearances per game (3.8) from last season, it shows that he’s more of a positional defender. However, this season, his numbers are down due to the arrival of Diego Godín.
Despite that, Škriniar is an elite defender that PSG would love to have. With the negotiations already underway for Mauro Icardi, there’s a business relationship between sporting director Leonardo and Inter Milan. Nonetheless, the 24-year-old defender is drawing interest from other European Giants, and as per usual, it’s FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, according to Sport.
If PSG is going to want Škriniar, they’ll to have to get into a bidding war with their bitter Spanish rivals, and it’s time for Les Parisiens to win a bidding war.
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