PSG
Marco Asensio has not found form at PSG after Real Madrid move
The Spaniard moved to France in the summer transfer window, but he has not hit the ground running and did not feature in the recent league game.
Marco Asensio has not set the French league on fire since his move to PSG from Real Madrid, with the forward struggling to find form in the early part of the season.
The Spanish international landed in the French capital after not extending his deal with 14-time European Cup champions, Real Madrid. The player decided against the extension in favour of finding his feet - and more minutes - in another league.
However, after two games played in the Ligue 1 season, he has found the football difficult to adapt to: the winger was a starter in the first game but was also manager Luis Enrique’s first substitute; in the second he did not get a single minute of action against Toulouse, with the coach preferring to bring on both Ousmane Dembélé and ex-reject, Kylian Mbappé.
Marco Asensio finding it hard to settle in France
Asensio’s signing for PSG, a firm bet by sporting director, Luis Campos, was seen as a market opportunity after his relationship with Real Madrid came to a conclusion. After a pre-season in which he featured heavily, making a name for himself in a new position on the left wing, the first stumbling block came against Toulouse.
Luis Enrique left the player on the bench and decided against bringing him on to change the game that was in the balance and needed an injection of attacking quality. Instead the manager decided to go for Lee Kang-in on the left side, although the Korean did not shine on the wing and looked isolated, failing to create chances and make the difference.
Asensio will have it tough to make his name as a starter in Paris. The competition in attack is enormous, and things have risen another level after the return of Kylian Mbappé, the signing of Dembélé and the potential incorporations of Randal Kolo Muani and Bradley Barcola.
Which players will play in attack for PSG?
In total, taking Asensio into the equation, Luis Enrique has a total of 7 players for 6 attacking positions: Marco Asensio, Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Gonçalo Ramos, Randal Kolo Muani (yet to be confirmed), Bradley Barcola (yet to be confirmed) and Lee Kang-in. Even with this list, there is still Ekitiké, who is still on the books but on his way out.
The season is very long and PSG should play a lot of games as they fight to get to the latter stages of the cup competitions, meaning the chances Asensio gets to feature should come at some point. However, for now, the ex-Real Madrid winger has not managed to adapt to the physical football in France, a style which demands a lot of output for 90 minutes.
In the first game, against Lorient, Asensio did have some flashes of quality, but on no occasion did he look like a threat on goal. Without Mbappé and Dembélé, PSG found it difficult get through the defensive block of the opposition and they failed to create clear cut chances. Asensio was taken off by the manager and the Frech press deemed his performance insufficient.
Does Luis Enrique trust Marco Asensio?
Despite not featuring against Toulouse, it is still believed that Luis Enrique trusts the player to have an impact, given the fact that he played for the ex-Barça manager for the Spanish national team, who can always surprise with his lineups.
As a result, a start against Lens in the next game week could well be on the cards at the Parc de Princes in a game where PSG must return to their ruthless best to get early points on the table.
