This Wednesday, Paris Saint-Germain plays the European Super Cup against Aston Villa (kick-off at 9 PM, broadcast on Canal+). The match takes place just two days after the international players returned to training with PSG, casting doubt on the availability of Lucas Digne, Lucas Hernandez, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembélé, Achraf Hakimi, and Fabian Ruiz. L’Équipe has provided an update, noting that the academy prospects who stepped up during the pre-season have returned to the youth squads, while Barcola is likely to see very limited playing time at best.
“Sending all young players back to the U21 or U19 teams.”
“The first consequence of this return was sending all the young players back to the U21 or U19 squads. Dembélé, Barcola, and Doué cut their vacations short to return to the French capital and train individually, aiming to be available for the Spanish coach. Dembélé returned to France as early as Wednesday, a week before the first official match. PSG, aware of the players’ desire to be ready, oversaw their individual training sessions. Barcola and Dembélé notably spent time at INSEP.”
“Barcola was unable to complete all his sessions.”
Some even traveled to the PSG Campus to undergo initial physical tests late last week. Barcola was ill for a few days and could not complete all his training sessions, suggesting he might not see much action in Austria. Meanwhile, the 2025 Ballon d’Or winner has already told his inner circle that he is taking this first week—with two trophies at stake, including the Trophée des Champions match in Lens this Sunday—very seriously.”
A word of caution: as with transfer market news, one should always treat media claims regarding the Paris squad’s internal affairs with a degree of skepticism. We will have to wait for an official update, perhaps during Luis Enrique’s 4:30 PM press conference. However, there is no doubt regarding the young players, given the footage from training. This is hardly surprising, even if some might have hoped to retain a spot in the squad. That said, the first-team training group is already quite large, and being left out of the training session doesn’t rule out a matchday call-up to cover for a potential absence.
For now, the general feeling is that the returning players will be included in the squad. The real question concerns playing time—specifically, who starts and who comes off the bench. This depends on each player’s fitness and how they are feeling; only the coaching staff has the full picture. In any case, no one will be at 100% fitness, so we shouldn’t expect to see the Paris side at its peak. However, their established chemistry remains intact, and there are top-class players eager to win the first trophy of the season.
As for Barcola, this slight delay could well result in very limited—or even zero—playing time. PSG has plenty of squad depth, so there is no need to take risks or rely on a player who isn’t fully ready. Not to mention the potential move to Liverpool, the details of which still need to be clarified.
