In late May, Paris Saint-Germain completed its permanent transfer of forward Mauro Icardi from Serie A side Inter Milan. The move seemed inevitable after the Argentine recorded 20 goals thus far in his first season with the team. But according to a report, one key figure within PSG was not all on board with the transfer.
According to Le10Sport, manager Thomas Tuchel did not want the club to move forward with the deal for Icardi. Instead, he preferred that the board opt to bring in current Arsenal forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Per the report, Tuchel offered his input to Leonardo, PSG’s sporting director, on why the club should sign Aubameyang instead. But Leonardo went against the advice of Tuchel and proceeded ahead with the deal for Icardi.
Tuchel is very familiar with Aubameyang. He managed the forward for two seasons while with Borussia Dortmund, which included a DFB-Pokal tournament win. Aubameyang was the focal point of Tuchel’s attack, as he scored 79 goals in all competitions over the two seasons.
A deal for Aubameyang at the moment would not have been far-fetched considering that the forward is in an ongoing contract extension dilemma with the Gunners. But any such deal may have surpassed the €50 million figure that PSG paid for Icardi.
For now, Tuchel will continue to rely on Icardi to be one of the two main strikers upfront in the team’s 4-4-2 setup.
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