HP Terbaru 2023 – PSG are giving Dro Fernández the platform he was denied at Barcelona

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By Graham Ruthven

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Paris Saint-Germain could have paid less for Dro Fernández. Indeed, the European champions felt so bad about poaching one of Barcelona’s best young players that they paid more than the 18-year-old’s release clause to lure him to the Parc Des Princes in the January transfer window.

That PSG sent a reported €8.2m to Barca instead of the €6m it would have taken to activate the release clause in Fernández’s contract was most likely politically motivated to maintain relations between the two clubs rather than a sympathy payment. Nonetheless, the teenager’s move caused controversy.

Fernández hasn’t had to wait long for vindication, though. While the young midfielder played just 91 minutes for Barcelona in the first half of the season, he has already surpassed that number in game time for his new team. PSG are giving Fernández the platform he was denied in Catalonia.

Barcelona argued that Fernandez needed to bide his time. “If you want to play for Barca, then [do it] 100% with your whole heart,” said Hansi Flick when asked about the teenager’s situation. “This is what I want to say to everyone who is now with us, or in the future with us, this must be 100%.

“We give them the opportunity to train with us, to grow, every day, with the best players in the world. These colours, you have to live for them, this is what I want to see. All the others I don’t want, this is what I can say. Sometimes you do not agree with what they are doing, but they are 18, they are old enough to make the decisions, they have people around them.”

Considered one of the finest players to emerge from La Masia in a generation, Fernández was possibly entitled to feel he was being held back by Flick. Other youngsters such as Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí and Marc Bernal are key first team figures. Fernández, on the other hand, was barely in the first team picture.

At PSG, Fernández has immediately found a more suitable environment. Luis Enrique’s 4-3-3 formation appears to be a better fit for the 18-year-old who was never able to find a clear role in Flick’s 4-2-3-1 shape. Surrounded by some of the best midfielders in the word, Fernández has a lot of protection.

Positionally, Fernández is an unusual player. His natural dribbling ability has led some to suggest he is most effective on the wing whereas others see his pressing against the ball and consider him a central midfielder. The truth is he is somewhere between the two and Enrique seems to understand this.

“Luis Enrique is an incredible coach,” said Fernández. “Everyone told me he was an incredible coach, and that’s one of the reasons I signed here. He has a lot of faith in young players.” That faith led to Fernández being handed his first Ligue 1 start in PSG’s comfortable 3-0 win over Metz on Saturday.

Fernández played 63 minutes and registered 53 touches of the ball. He completed 39 of his 41 attempted passes and did a good job of circulating possession in the centre of the pitch. He also completed a successful dribble, fed a pass into Bradley Barcola that led to a shot and had an effort on target of his own.

It wasn’t the most eye-catching of performances, but Fernández has a lot more to offer. He will give Enrique a different option to utilise in his midfield trio with the 18-year-old a more vertical player than the likes of Vitinha, João Neves and Fabián Ruiz. In tight spaces and in open areas, Fernández is comfortable.

Not so long ago, PSG was a volatile environment for young players. It was a club geared towards its star players in the age of Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar. Of course, PSG still have star players, but Enrique is the figurehead of an organisation now far better equipped to improve and develop.

Such is the strength in depth at the Parc des Princes, Fernández shouldn’t expect to start many more matches before the end of the season. PSG have a crucial Champions League last 32 second leg this week followed by a run of pivotal fixtures in the French title race culminating in a clash with Lens in mid-April.

Even still, Fernández is clearly on the radar for Enrique in a way he never was for Flick. PSG went to the bother of extracting the 18-year-old from Barcelona because they can see his potential and have already given him an opportunity to show what he can do. La Masia’s loss can be PSG’s gain for years to come.

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(Images from IMAGO)

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