PSG, are you playing with Lee Kangin? "LEE is untouchable"→"Gave up to recruiting the Wall FW"...The reality is that bench + playing time for 2 consecutive games has plummeted

Sep 04, 2024

Picture=Lee Kang-in SNS capture

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It was reported that Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) even gave up recruiting a world-class striker to protect Lee Kang-in. However, contrary to such will, Lee Kang-in is losing his position at the beginning of the season.

France's PSG Talk reported on the 3rd (Korea time) 'PSG was linked to Victor Osimhen this summer, but did not recruit him' on the rumor of a transfer between PSG and Osimhen.

Osimhen recently confirmed his move to Galatasaray in Turkiye. The club has already delivered the transfer agreement, and Osimhen's appearance of meeting Galatasaray fans at Turkiye Airport was also reported through the media.

This is a surprising result considering the keen interest in Osimhen at the beginning of the transfer market this summer. Osimhen, who scored 31 goals in 39 official games during the 2022-2023 season and led Napoli to the league championship in 33 years with Kim Min-jae, also performed well with 17 goals in 32 games in the previous 2023-2024 season, and the ransom went through the roof. However, Napoli's demands were greater than the increased ransom. He insisted on a buyout of 110 million pounds (about 190 billion won) as a transfer fee to Osimen.

After Napoli's demands, many teams gave up signing Osimhen. Since then, there has been an offer from Saudi Arabia's Al Ahli, and Osimhen has even reached a personal agreement with Al Ahli, but the transfer failed due to Napoli's demand for additional transfer fees. Osimhen will move to Galatasaray, where he decided to guarantee most of his weekly pay, after the transfer market of the five major European leagues closed.

Photo=capture Twitter

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One of the teams that was most interested in recruiting Osimen was PSG. PSG, which struggled to fill the weight of the offense after Kylian Mbappe's transfer, negotiated with Osimhen as a candidate. However, PSG was also not willing to pay Osimhen's buyout, and negotiations stalled. In such a situation, Napoli's proposal was to exchange Osimhen for an additional transfer fee with Lee Kang-in. But PSG didn't even look at Napoli's proposal.

France's PSG report says 'Lee Kang-in is an untouchable player at PSG. Napoli initially demanded Osimhen's buyout clause, and then PSG stopped negotiating Osimhen when they asked for an offer that included Lee Kang-in. PSG later said it had not considered the Osimhen proposal.

European football transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano also refused to include Lee Kang-in in the deal in July, and will not trigger a buyout as Napoli wanted. No deal is made under these conditions,' he said, adding that Napoli's offer to include Lee Kang-in was rejected.

PSG has blocked interest in Lee Kang-in as well as the Osimen trade this summer, sticking to its position that it cannot be sent because it is a key resource for the team. France's Foot Mercato said in July that the EPL club offered 70 million euros (about 100 billion won) for Lee Kang-in. A huge offer has arrived for PSG, which wants to earn transfer fees to replace Mbappe. According to the information, an anonymous EPL club offered 70 million euros to recruit Lee Kang-in. However, PSG wants to protect Lee Kang-in. He said he had already rejected the EPL club's offer and wanted to keep Lee Kang-in, adding that PSG kept Lee Kang-in despite the huge amount.

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However, the problem is that PSG has no intention of releasing Lee Kang-in, but Lee Kang-in's position in the team is shaking. Lee Kang-in started off in a good mood, taking responsibility for PSG's first score along with the starter for the opening game of this season. However, he stayed on the bench in the next two games. In the match against Montpellier, he played as a substitute and scored. In the game against Lille, there was no offensive point after playing as a substitute, but he showed sharp dribbles and passes. Nevertheless, Lee Kang-in's playing time is on the decline in all three games since the opening. Unlike the opening game against Le Havre, who started, the previous match against Lille played only 16 minutes.

For Lee Kang-in, the shrinking playing time is regrettable. He showed his performance even though it was difficult to play consistently due to the absence of national team schedules such as the Asian Games and the Asian Cup last season, and this was the second season to play after adapting to the team in earnest, but the opportunity to play is disappearing due to a decrease in playing time.

Lee Kang-in, who was born in 2001 and turned 23 this year, is at an important point in playing and performing steadily from this season as the time of playing in a season and the resulting growth can have a profound impact on his future career. In this situation, it is not welcome for PSG to block the club's interest in Lee Kang-in and increase the time to put him on the bench.

Along with the backstory of Napoli and PSG's recruitment of Osimen, interest in Lee Kang-in's value and situation has also grown. If Lee Kang-in is not recognized for his value at PSG and is reduced to a replacement resource, he will also have to consider moving to another club that wants him.

digh1229@sportschosun.com