Lee Kang-in has made his presence felt in a Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) group photo.
The club posted a group photo of Luis Enrique and his summer recruits on social media on Wednesday. Ousmane Dembele, Marco Asensio, Gonzalo Hamus, Cher N’Dore, Luca Hernandez, Arnau Tenas, Milan Skriniar, Manuel Ugarte, Bradley Barcola, Kolo Moani, and others are pictured alongside Lee.
PSG is in the midst of a major rebuild. They let Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos go and replaced Galtier with Luis Enrique, who led them to the treble with Barcelona. Along with Enrique, there are plenty of new faces. Lee, Asensio, Shkreliar, Ugarte, Hernandez, and more. That’s a whopping 11 new signings.
PSG has tended to rely on world-class players. The Qatari capital has brought in some of Europe’s biggest stars, including Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi, and Sergio Ramos. Challenging for the top of Europe with world-class players hasn’t been easy, but that doesn’t mean they haven’t had their chances. In the 2019-20 season, they reached the UEFA Champions League (UCL) final, only to be knocked out by Bayern Munich.
Now, the club has taken a different approach to recruitment this summer, opting for the future rather than big names. Lee, Hamuth, and Ugarte were all born in 2001. All three have never played for a big club. However, PSG’s goal is still the top of Europe. They need their youngsters to perform above expectations.
Things are not going well for PSG. PSG spent the preseason without Mbappe due to a conflict with him. Without Mbappe, PSG was less destructive in attack, especially as they didn’t create as many threatening moments and lacked detail. With Neymar also leaving the team, PSG’s offense suffered, but the addition of Dembele provided some respite.
In the end, PSG played their opening game without Mbappe and Neymar. The results were disappointing. They drew 0-0 with Lorient without scoring. Afterward, there were reports that PSG and Mbappe had reconciled. “We had a very constructive and positive conversation with Mbappe. Mbappe has returned to first-team training,” the club announced.
Mbappe is back and the offense is starting to come alive. Mbappe scored his first goal of the season from the penalty spot against Toulouse in the second round. But the win was not to be. PSG recorded their first win in three rounds. Mbappe was at his best with a multi-goal performance.
The goal for PSG is always the treble. The fact that Manchester City won the treble last season should have spurred PSG on. PSG has long been the dominant force in the Ligue 1. However, this is not the case this season. They currently sit in eighth place. It’s important for them to bounce back quickly. In the UCL, they were drawn in a group of death with Newcastle, Dortmund, and AC Milan. With both league and cup competitions at full strength, the performance of the new signings will be key.