Ilya Zabarnyi, the 22-year-old central defender from Bournemouth (contract runs until 2028) and Ukraine, has been announced as a defensive priority for Paris Saint-Germain this mercato. The player is even said to be ready to come, but the club needs to negotiate with him. L’Equipe reports today that PSG have tried to move forward with negotiations, but that agreement has not yet been reached.
Too big a gap?
“In recent hours, despite further discussions, Bournemouth and Paris Saint-Germain have still not reached an agreement. The English are still demanding €70m and are playing for time in the hope of finding a replacement quickly. Paris, for its part, has hinted that it will not go to such sums, having already offered more than €50m.
Should this fail on Tuesday, the dossier could still evolve, but the deal could not be made official before June 16, when the transfer market reopens. Above all, Zabarnyi would not be qualified to take part in the Club World Cup, which could delay a possible deal by several weeks.”
These are still just rumors, with no concrete confirmation whatsoever. So it’s hard to be certain. We can only hope that the media haven’t talked so much about it for nothing. But that’s no guarantee.
Neither that there is a concrete offer, nor that an agreement has been reached. A deal is still possible, but so is a stalemate. So we’ll have to wait a little longer for certainty.
Zabarnyi is undoubtedly a very interesting defender for the Parisian project, with defensive solidity, ball skills and potential to develop. PSG can really take a chance. But Bournemouth won’t sell easily, especially as Dean Huijsen has already left for Real Madrid.