Argentina’s latest football starlet Javier Pastore is about to join French giants PSG. The move will cost the newly-rich French club in the region of £37million to complete.
And they were believed to have beaten off competition from Chelsea for the playmaker.
Sensation
Every young Argentinian attacking midfielder is immediately labelled as a sensation or lauded to the high heavens.
A lot of them fail to live up to the enormous pressure piled on them by high expectations. Some are not good enough in the first place to be consider future superstars, yet are still overhyped.
Standard
One of the questions that has came through my mind when thinking about Javier Pastore is how good is he? The only leagues he has played in so far are in Argentina and Italy. Neither of them are of an exceptionally good standard.
Italy’s Serie A was previously the flagship league to play in. In the late eighties, early nineties it was considered the place to be for top world stars. Now it has became a feeder league for top dogs the Premier League and La Liga.
Javier Pastore looked outstanding in Serie A but was it due to him having enormous talent or was it due to the poor standard of opposition? I think it might have been a bit of both. Pastore is without doubt a talented player.
However we won’t know how talented he is until he plays in a better standard of league. Unfortunately he has decided to join a worse standard of league in the French Ligue One.
Strange
I find it strange that he has decided to move to France. PSG have just been taken over by Qatari owners and they seem determined to spend whatever they need to make the club a success. It seems that PSG might have been Pastore’s only option though.
Chelsea were believed to be interested in the playmaker but we will never know if their interest was solid or not. Surely if he had the choice between Chelsea and PSG he would have chosen the Premier League outfit?
Lightweight
From what I have seen of Javier Pastore he seems very lightweight. He looks like a gust of wind could blow him over. His lightweight style might suit the Italian or French leagues but I suspect he would find it more difficult to play his style of game in the Premier League.
The English top flight is a much more physical challenge than its two continent counterparts. I’m sure Pastore would get bullied out of games in the Premier League.
Maybe he realises this and that’s why he has moved to Ligue One. If he improved his physique and strength then he could have a crack at the Premier League, maybe in a few years time.
Money
One key fact that cannot be ignored in this transfer is that Pastore is likely to pick up a major pay packet in Paris with the French club. PSG’s new owners have been likened to Manchester City’s owners and they are expected to have the same impact on the transfer market.
PSG can afford to better the wages that the likes Chelsea could have given the Argentine and if they carry on in a similar vein they are likely to make big waves in the European transfer market. Pastore could just be the start of the big spending.
Overpriced
I have to say I believe that £37million is too much for a player of Pastore’s experience. Granted he does have potential but in a lot of cases these players don’t live up to their immense potential.
In today’s crazy transfer market though the likes of mega-rich clubs PSG and Manchester City are likely to keep spending to get where they want to be. Both clubs are aiming for domestic titles and both want to challenge Europe’s elite.
Their presence on the transfer scene has inflated prices and if they want a player then its hard for other clubs to compete. As long as the likes of these clubs are about then transfer fees are likely to remain inflated.
Has Javier Pastore made the right decision in joining PSG?
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