Paris Saint-Germain consultant Luis Campos highlighted the team’s insufficient summer transfer window, underlining their need for a new defender and their interest in Inter’s Milan Skriniar.
The 27-year-old Slovakian centre back was heavily linked with a move away from the Nerazzurri this summer, with PSG desperate to secure his signature, but Inter refused to budge from their over €70m price tag. With less than a year left on Skriniar’s contract, it’s likely that the French giants will return for the Slovakian in the upcoming January transfer window.
Speaking to RMC Sport, Campos discussed PSG’s work in the summer transfer window and made a reference to Skriniar.
“We arrived at the conclusion of the last transfer window without the perfect balance. We have enormous quality in the squad, without a doubt, but we haven’t reached perfection.
“We only have three central defenders and since we started playing with a three-man defence we’ve been struggling.
“I’m not naming names, we haven’t just talked to Skriniar, in the end we don’t have the player we need. If we are missing a piece, the puzzle is not complete.”
He underlined his unhappiness with the team’s work in the transfer window.
“We didn’t have a good transfer window. The market was long, the first week we managed to get Vitinha, then there were six or seven weeks without doing anything.
“And in the last week everything becomes much more expensive. From the moment the economic decisions affect the athlete, it wasn’t a good window.”
The PSG consultant ruled out a possible sale of Brazilian star Neymar.
“He’s a very good player. He always arrives on time, he hasn’t missed a training session, except one for a small problem. Neymar is involved in the team and club project, we have never thought of selling him.”
Finally, Campos reflected on if Zinedine Zidane was a real possibility for the head coach role before Christophe Galtier took on the job.
“When the president invited me to take over this position, the first thing I did was call Christophe Galtier, even before calling my wife and mother. I know his values, his skills, what we can bring. We can do a job together.
“When the sporting director is well associated with the coach, you save a lot of time. At a club like that, you have to win fast. And to win fast you have to have the right people close by.”
Inter are hoping to tie down Skriniar to a new deal, making him one of the best paid players in the squad, but things may not prove simple as his contract ticks down. The 27-year-old has spent the last five years of his career with the Nerazzurri and it’s still unclear if he’ll put pen to paper on a new contract or not.