Premier League giants Liverpool are ‘very interested’ in Paris Saint-Germain wonderkid Warren Zaire-Emery with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola also a huge fan.
During negotiations over a deal that would see Bernardo Silva swap the treble winners for a fresh start across the Channel, PSG have reportedly offered Man City a whole host of players in exchange.
Unfortunately for Pep Guardiola, 17-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery is not one of those the Ligue 1 champions are willing to part with.
Guardiola, according to simply ‘adores’ Zaire-Emery. It speaks volumes about how highly the teenager is regarded behind the scenes at the Parc des Princes, however, that PSG currently have no intention of letting Zaire-Emery move to Manchester as part of the deal that would see Bernardo Silva move in the other direction.
Liverpool are also keeping a very close eye on the situation. Borussia Dortmund too.
But with PSG hoping to move away from their flawed ‘Galactico’ gameplan and towards a more authentic, considered approach – as epitomised by the signings of Manuel Ugarte and Kang-In Lee from Sporting Lisbon and Real Mallorca respectively – the homegrown Zaire-Emery is seen as something of a posterboy for a bold new era in Paris.
Warren Zaire-Emery is staying at Paris Saint-Germain
After losing so many of their most exciting academy graduates – Kingsley Coman, Mike Maignan, Xavi Simons, Christopher Nkunku, Moussa Diaby – tying down Zaire-Emery to a new deal and handing him a central role in their long-term plans would epitomise a dramatic change of plan from a team often referred to as football’s very own Faberge egg.
Bejewelled and fancy on the outside, and hollow in the middle.
He has personality and that’s what we want here,” team-mate Kylian Mbappe beamed after Zaire-Emery became PSG’s youngest ever first-team player at the age of 16 years and four months (Amazon Prime).
“He’s 16, and we don’t care. He comes and he brings what he can. Of course, he will learn, and he may make mistakes. But we are here to help him because we know he has quality.
An elegant and supremely self confident central midfielder, Zaire-Emery made a highly-impressive 26 Ligue 1 appearances during his breakthrough campaign. The teenager has also featured in each of PSG’s last 22 domestic matches.
“He’s an incredible talent,” adds former Lille ace Joe Cole (BT Sport). ‘Physically he reminds me of Wayne Rooney. The size of his thighs at just 16!
“He’s a man already. We were talking about his mindset. Usually, when you score your first goal, you lost your mind completely. But he just strolls away, cool as you like.
