PSG eyeing French midfield duo in the summer - Reports

According to Le Parisien (via Fichajes), Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) are preparing to snap up French midfield duo Paul Pogba and Aurelien Tchouameni in the summer.

Real Madrid knocked PSG out of the Champions League in the round-of-16 stage this season. Having secured a 1-0 first-leg win in Paris, Paris fell to a 3-1 defeat in the return leg, crashing out with a 3-2 aggregate scoreline. Earlier this season, Paris Saint-Germain were knocked out of the French Cup as well, succumbing to a defeat against Nice on penalties.

Ambitious as they are, the Ligue 1 leaders are far from satisfied with this season’s display and are eager to improve upon it next season. As per the aforementioned report, bolstering the midfield would be their no. 1 priority this summer, and they already have two midfielders in mind.

Manchester United central midfielder Paul Pogba is the first name on the list. The Frenchman is out of contract this summer, making him a relatively hassle-free target. All Paris needs to worry about is the 29-year-old's wages, which supposedly is not a problem for them.

Their second midfield target, Monaco’s Aurelien Tchouameni, could need a lot more convincing. The 22-year-old supposedly wants to move out of France and has drawn interest from Real Madrid and Chelsea. PSG could offer the youngster, who is valued between €80million and €100million, a sizeable salary bump to convince him to move to Paris.

The club from the French capital could also use Monaco alumnus Kylian Mbappe to convince his compatriot to move to the club. Tchouameni’s current contract with Monaco runs out in June 2024.

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PSG to offload two players to make room for new midfielders

As per the report, Les Parisiens are willing to cut ties with Julian Draxler and Georginio Wijnaldum to facilitate summer arrivals. Draxler joined Paris Saint-Germain from Wolfsburg in 2017 but never managed to establish himself as a regular. Wijnaldum, on the other hand, moved to Paris as a free agent last summer after running down his contract with Liverpool.

Neither player has managed to impress Mauricio Pochettino this season, making their departure pretty straightforward. Veteran forward Angel Di Maria is also out of contract this summer and is unlikely to be offered an extension. With the three midfielders heading out, Paris should have enough funds and room to accommodate new arrivals.