Mercato: PSG wants to keep Rico as a lining for Navas this summer

Among the players at the end of the contract that PSG wishes to keep in preparation for the two national cup finals and the final tournament of the Champions League this summer, there is a special case. This is that of Sergio Rico (26), the substitute goalkeeper aligned eight times this season (for six goals conceded). His situation differs from that of the other players at the end of the contract: Thiago Silva, Cavani, Meunier and Kurzawa. The Andalusian doorman is also coming to the end of his lease on June 30, but as he played at PSG as part of a season loan, the latter is supposed to find the workforce of Seville FC from the 1st July.

However, if Rico did not give any satisfaction to the Parisian club which did not exercise its purchase option - we remember his dumpling against Bordeaux last February (4-3 victory) with this clearance directly on Pablo marking the knee - the PSG intends to offer a little rab to the lining of Keylor Navas. Discussions in this direction have been started with Monchi, the sporting director of Seville, so that the Andalusian club agrees to extend the loan of its goalkeeper until the end of August as recommended by FIFA.

Seville will not hang on

Within the PSG, we want to be confident about the outcome of the negotiations, praising the quality of relations between Leonardo and his Sevillian counterpart. The business seems all the less insurmountable as Seville does not seem to cling to its Rico. At the end of the contract in June 2021, the latter could be sold this summer, according to indiscretions from the Andalusian press.

For PSG, the record is less trivial than it seems. In the event of an injury to Keylor Navas, and if Rico were to default, PSG should rely on the Pole Marcin Bulka (20) who has never played a single European Cup match. Too tender, therefore. Ditto for Garissone Innocent (20) registered on the B list of PSG players for the Champions League. A pure product of Parisian training, the latter has never played in Ligue 1 and is not yet armed for continental contests.

Unless you recruit - which will surely be done in a second step but is not possible for the summer matches - PSG therefore has an ardent need to repatriate Rico, the only element really able to replace Navas in case of package.

Areola expected to extend two months with Real

For his part, Zinedine Zidane counts on his entire workforce for the end of the La Liga and a possible qualification for the quarter-finals of the Champions League (Real Madrid has yet to face Manchester City on its own ground after having inclined 1-2 at Santiago-Bernabeu on the outward journey). The PSG and the Madrid leaders have also started negotiations there to extend the loan from Alphonse Areola until the end of August. From a Spanish source, there is already talk of an agreement for an extension. The 2018 world champion should therefore stack for two months in Madrid.

Anyway, under the UEFA regulations, Areola even if he belongs to PSG, is not qualified to play with Paris in this competition. Indeed, the “Titi” is registered on the list A of the players of Real Madrid. Even if Paris recovered it in early July, despite the unprecedented health context, it is not certain that UEFA will deviate from its regulations. These stipulate that new players from the second phase of the Champions League must be added before 1 February.