Thanks to a nasty combination of Financial Fair Play fears, the effects of the covid-19 pandemic and the collapse of the lucrative Mediapro TV contract, Paris Saint-Germain are suddenly in no position to splash the cash like Augustus Gloop at Cadbury World.
Despite boasting pockets deeper than the Mariana Trench, a club financed – their critics would say founded – by the Qatari royal family are suddenly under pressure to watch their spending.
Fortunately, the Ligue 1 champions have one of the most prosperous academies in European football to fall back on.
The downside, however, is their most promising youngsters don’t tend to stick around for long.
In recent years, Kingsley Coman, Matteo Guendouzi, Mike Maignan, Ferland Mendy, Christopher Nkunku, Jonathan Ikone, Odsonne Edouard, Moussa Diaby, Moussa Dembele and Tanguy Kouassi have all walked away from the Parc des Princes.
And despite forcing his way into the first-team picture, making 21 Ligue 1 appearances this season, highly rated left-back Mitchel Bakker is clearly unhappy about his suddenly reduced role in the PSG picture.
“(Mauricio) Pochettino makes choices and sticks to certain people. I’m playing less,” Bakker tells Voetbal Primeur, living up to the straight-talking Dutchman stereotype.
“I still have a few months in Paris before the transfer market opens. Then we’ll see.”
According to L’Equipe, the 20-year-old stormed off the training ground in February after he was dropped for the 4-0 thrashing of Dijon.
Clearly, a player who featured regularly under Thomas Tuchel isn’t loving life under his Argentine replacement.
Bakker has started only one of the past ten league matches and was omitted from both legs of that titanic European tussle with Barcelona.
Celtic failed with a loan bid for 20-year-old Bakker in September (Sky Sports). And, with Diego Laxalt’s loan deal coming to an end in a matter of weeks, the Hoops will be in the market for a replacement.
You’d think Bakker, an ambitious, self-confident player with an appetite for first-team football, would be sorely tempted by the prospect of swapping Paris for Glasgow this time.
After all, it worked out rather nicely for Dembele and Edouard.
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