Solving the post-Kylian Mbappe striker problem at PSG

Solving the post-Kylian Mbappe striker problem at PSG

Kylian Mbappe’s future at PSG remains very unclear as the Frenchman refuses to publicly confirm where he would play his football next season.

He was close to moving to Real Madrid before last season and remained to pen a new contract at the club.

In the summer, he was the subject of so much controversy after telling the Parisians that he would not extend his deal with them.

PSG fired back by banishing him from the first team and placing him on the transfer market immediately, but the Frenchman was not moved.

He eventually reached a gentleman’s agreement with PSG to stay and was reinstated into their first team.

At 25, Mbappe is already PSG’s record scorer and has achieved probably all he could at the club, except winning the Champions League.

They reached the final of that illustrious competition in 2020 but could not win it, and he will try to help them achieve that this term.

It would be hard, just as it seems almost impossible that the 2018 World Cup winner will remain at the club.

PSG has invested heavily in the team to ensure it stays competitive and close enough to the other top clubs on the continent.

However, fans who buy PSG tickets from vetted resellers on Seatsnet know Mbappe may have outgrown the club.

He is simply one of the world’s best who deserves those links to Real Madrid and could be on the Spanish team's books next term.

PSG may not like it, but Mbappe will almost certainly leave next term, and they tried to get Goncalo Ramos to replace him last season.

Offload Goncalo Ramos

The Portuguese attacker scored goals for fun at Benfica and benched Cristiano Ronaldo in some crucial games for Portugal at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

This prompted PSG to move for him, and they signed the striker on loan with an obligation to buy him for big money.

Ramos was chosen ahead of the likes of Dusan Vlahovic and Victor Osimhen, which looks shocking in hindsight.

However, PSG did a deal for him because Benfica was more flexible in the payment structure as they wanted to avoid an FFP problem.

But the Portugal striker has been below-par under Luis Enrique and should be sold off in the summer.

It seems harsh to judge him by a single season, but when you compare the quality of support he has had in attack, it makes no sense that he has just three goals from 13 league games this term.

Even he knows he has been out of place at the club and will be better off playing for another team from the end of this season.

Hugo Ekitike is another poor striking choice PSG has made recently, as the youngster does not seem interested in playing football.

In the summer, PSG wanted to sell him or send him out on loan, and he refused, only to secretly try to negotiate a move to another Premier League club.

The Parisians were furious and banished him from the first team, which means we have not seen him around the group since the opening week of the term.

PSG could have handled that situation differently and now have to find a way to offload the striker.

Keeping him away from the group does not help anyone, and they need the money from his sale to make some new purchases by the end of the season.

Strikers PSG can sign to replace Kylian Mbappe

Mbappe is probably irreplaceable at PSG because it could take decades to find another striker who can score so many goals for them in a short time.

He has been a Parisian hero since he joined the club and will leave having scored the highest amount of goals in their history.

PSG knows how to buy a striker and has done well in the past, with the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavanni.

It would be difficult to replace Mbappe, but there are strikers they can sign who will do a good job for them in the coming weeks.

Victor Osimhen, Napoli

Osimhen was linked with a move to PSG in the summer, but they chose Ramos over the Nigerian striker who has won the league in a top competition like the Serie A.

He was the top scorer in the Italian top flight last season and was on the shopping list of several top clubs in Europe, which meant he was a better option to Ramos.

PSG can still sign him in the summer because he has a release clause in his current deal at Napoli, making it easy for any suitor to get the Nigerian.

Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona

PSG will miss Mbappe, but if they sign a very experienced player, they could forget about him quickly.

Several players are in that category, but few will be as good as Robert Lewandowski, who cannot stop scoring at Barcelona.

Moving to Barcelona surprised most of us, but it allowed Lewi to show he could deliver in another top competition.

Having conquered the Spanish top flight, the ex-BVB man could be interested in scoring in Ligue 1.

In Lewandowski, PSG will be signing a player who can easily slot into their team and do a good job in Paris.

The Polish striker was a part of the Bayern team that stopped PSG from winning the Champions League in 2020 and could become the goalscorer that helps them end their wait to win the competition.

Alvaro Morata, Atletico de Madrid

Morata has had a journeyman career but seems to be settled at Atletico de Madrid and has been scoring like he is in the prime of his career.

It is hard to consider selling him from an Atleti point of view, but every player has a price, and Morata guarantees goals.

The Spaniard is in superb form this term as one of the leading scorers in La Liga, making him one of the eligible replacements for Mbappe.

Because of his age, he will not spend much time on the books of PSG, but Morata is a striker they will enjoy for at least two seasons before they find a long-term replacement for Mbappe.

Working under Luis Enrique, who coached him in the Spain national team, could make life easier for him in France.

Other strikers that PSG can sign include Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic, who was linked with a move to the French club in the summer.

Juve wants to sell him and is shopping him around, so PSG could get a good deal in the summer for his signature.

Viktor Gyökeres of Sporting Clube de Portugal is another goal machine who has done brilliantly this season and could be set to move to a bigger club this summer.

The Swede is one of the top strikers in Europe now and will be on the move when the transfer window reopens in the summer.