There’s something of an ego battle between Barcelona and PSG this summer, and it’s not over yet, as want-away centre back Mamadou Sakho is trying to force a move away from the French champions, hoping to land at the Camp Nou.
Sakho isn’t happy about his situation in Paris, being a bench player without much of a chance to find himself in the lineup, facing three Brazilian centre backs as competition. Thiago Silva is untouchable, while Alex remains in the lineup as long as Marquinhos is still injured. Meanwhile, Sakho has seen the bench for 180 minutes in PSG’s first two official matches, and unless some injury happens to befall those in front of him in the rotation (like in the previous season), he’s not going to see too many minutes.
So far, the clubs that have been linked to Sakho have been Liverpool and Monaco, but according to Sport, the French international (14 caps by the age of 23) would like to see himself playing for Barcelona. It’s common knowledge that Barcelona have a big problem in their defensive line, especially at centre back, but their chase after Daniel Agger, David Luiz, Thiago Silva and Marquinhos ended up with rejections.
It seems like the club is willing to endure another summer without the necessary improvement in their defense, but Sakho trying to push his way out of a club that can actually afford to sell him might rekindle their interest in finding a partner for Gerard Pique, and a talented one at that.
Sakho might not be the technically gifted centre back Barcelona seem to be on the constant lookout for, but their best defensive player for over a decade and possibly in the history of the club, Carles Puyol, isn’t exactly too gifted in that department.
It’s hard to say if Sakho is the answer to Barcelona’s problems, but he should come in cheaper than their previous targets, and bring a certain toughness and size they might have been missing with all of their experimenting that include Javier Mascherano. Maybe the best option is to keep counting on their own players like Marc Bartra, but if Sakho is actually available, he’s probably worth taking a shot on.