Suspended from the desires of Neymar and (especially) Mbappé, Paris has its work cut out for it

And now ?

After leaving the track against Manchester City, in the semi-final, Paris Saint-Germain must put away, at least for one more year, its dreams of coronation in the Champions League in the closet.

Time for Mauricio Pochettino and his players, the whole club in fact, to make further progress.

Certainly, the European course, with these successes against Manchester United, Barcelona or Bayern, has "many reasons for satisfaction", as Leonardo pointed out on Tuesday night on 

RMC

.

Moreover, the elimination against City is not shameful, given the level of the opponent and the manner.

Admittedly, the Skyblues won 4-1 on the whole of the two matches, but with a little more success, the deal could have been different… “We did not have that little hint of luck… On the two matches , we had none at all, "plague Pochettino, while" Leo "is convinced that the Parisian training will" achieve important things "in the future.

Neymar and Mbappé, the first dominoes

For this, Paris will have to continue to move forward, to grow. And the first dominoes that must fall are Neymar Jr and Kylian Mbappé. In view of their quality, their place in the workforce and their market value, they hold the key to the Paris transfer window and more. The two superstars are under contract until 2022 and Paris wants to extend them. Otherwise, we would have to think about selling them, so as not to see them leave without compensation in a year.

Despite the posturing of the Catalan press, the future of "Ney" no longer seems to be in doubt. On the other hand, that of Mbappé, package at the Etihad Stadium, is still unclear. "We know Kylian's situation, he knows what we think," Leonardo said recently, on 

Canal +

. He has a one-year and two-month contract. Afterwards, everyone is talking. The moment to decide will come, that's for sure. ” 

With or without him, the song is obviously not the same. Already on the tactical level, we have seen that Pochettino's PSG did not play last Tuesday as they did against Barça or Bayern in previous rounds. With the best counter-striker in the world, Paris can continue to play the transition with greed against the best clubs. Without him, perhaps the Argentine coach would return to a more classic pattern. Depending on this choice, Leonardo and “Poche” will be able to set about modifying the workforce, refining the profiles, to find the players most suited to the style of the PSG vintage 2021-22. And this while we have sometimes had the impression in the past of transfers without a global vision, without a consultation relationship between decision-makers.

We imagine that the right-back position will, in all cases, be targeted as a priority.

On the left, Juan Bernat's return from injury will not hurt.

A complete midfielder either.

And ahead, it will depend on the cases of Julian Draxler (end of contract), Moise Kean (end of loan), or even Mauro Icardi and Pablo Sarabia.

In the direction of departures, the cases of Thilo Kehrer, Mitchel Bakker, Layvin Kurzawa or Colin Dagba will be studied.

Limited means, but ...

Despite the rumors of Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or Mo Salah recently, let's not forget that Paris Saint-Germain will not be able to spend lavishly next summer. It will be necessary to target, to study, to be smart… Even if Nasser Al-Khelaïfi is attached to the favors of the European authorities by saying “no” to the Super League and by taking the presidency of the ECA, whereas he did not want not from the post at the start, the financial policeman is still watching. And the income is limited in time of Covid-19, not to mention TV rights. For the 

Parisian

, it is however question of "a star, a middle and a side" for the arrivals, evoking for example Eduardo Camavinga (Rennes) in the middle or Serge Aurier (Tottenham), on the right, but also the possibility of associating Neymar, Mbappé and Messi, despite the feat that this would represent financially.

In addition to recruiting, other sectors should evolve on their own under the thumb of Pochettino, with for example the physique.

If they did not have time to breathe after the "Final 8", the Parisians will be entitled to a real preparation next summer.

Overall, let's hope that this so “political” PSG, according to Thomas Tuchel, lets the Argentinian coach set up his methods in all areas and gives him unconditional support.

It is up to him to be diplomatic enough not to alienate the whole organization chart.

One thing is certain: if PSG has bought a mind, certain attitudes will still have to change, individually and collectively.

As the Parisians have underlined after City, the very high level, it is played "on small details".

And it's those little things that are the hardest to catch.

For the rest, the talent is there, around Keylor Navas, Marquinhos, Marco Verratti, Neymar and Mbappé… or his successor. 

The daily requirement

Obviously, Ligue 1 will not change tomorrow. Pity. “The Premier League is extraordinary because you can never recover, you always have to give 100%. And it does something with the club, the mentality and the players ”, swears Tuchel, comparing the championships of France and England and affirming that the daily competitiveness which he found on the other side of the Channel the helps to push his team. Parisians must act as if, and not wait to be in C1 to raise their level. Again, this is Pochettino's job. But the leaders will have to support him in this task and reframe the recalcitrant. 

For the rest, it will also take this "little hint of luck".

For example, the main common point of the two future finalists of C1 is to have an empty or almost empty infirmary, unlike PSG and Real.

Each in turn you will say, Paris having released Bayern without Robert Lewandowski in the quarterfinals.

Still, luck only smiles on the daring.

It is up to Parisians, players, coaches and managers, to provoke it.

For the moment, up to the championship (Rennes on Sunday) and the Coupe de France (Montpellier on May 12).

Because the season is not over yet.

And it should be avoided that it ends without the slightest trophy ...

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