The 25-year-old midfielder has come to encapsulate all that is preventing the Parisians from progressing to the very top of the game
Paris Saint-Germain may have their Ligue 1 title back, closing it out courtesy of a remarkable 7-1 victory over Monaco on Sunday evening, but all is not well at the Parc des Princes club.
Domestic domination is one thing but following the type of investment that owners QSI made last summer in brining Neymar and Kylian Mbappe to the French capital, more is expected. An exit at the last-16 stage of the Champions League for the second successive season is not acceptable – even if Real Madrid, specialists in the competition, were their conquerors.
Changes are needed and will surely come.
Head coach Unai Emery’s failure to deliver that will cost him his job in the summer, with Thomas Tuchel set to take over, yet it would be unjust to lay all of the club’s ills at the door of the Spaniard.
There are players among PSG’s ranks who have simply not pulled their weight at vital times, foremost among them Marco Verratti.