Since arriving last January from FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, Leandro Paredes struggled to find his place with Paris Saint-Germain.
At first, there was hope that the midfielder would fill the defensive midfielder role that Thiago Motta left behind when the Italian retired in 2018. However, after nearly a year with Les Parisiens, it seems as though the Argentine couldn’t become the next Motta for the squad.
The future was looking dim for Paredes as he became subject to various transfer rumors, primarily seeing the 25-year-old head back to Italy. Nonetheless, midway through the 2019-20 season, the midfielder began taking a role that not many saw upon his arrival.
Paredes became the club’s enforcer. Having found this new lease on life in his PSG tenure, the Argentina international is hoping to remain with the capital club according to Foot Mercato.
As Les Parisiens continue to bring in superstar players of Neymar Jr. and Kylian Mbappé’s caliber, the club needs someone to protect its star players.
It may come off as barbaric to some, but French officials and Ligue 1 have made it known that they’ll look the other way when it comes to the “defending” of PSG’s star players.
The club’s pleas for better protection have fallen on deaf ears, and if Paredes can make sure that Ligue 1 players don’t take liberty on Neymar and Mbappé, then he’s worth keeping around.
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