Player Focus: Should PSG Reward Cavani With a Starring Role?

When Qatari investors took control of Paris Saint-Germain in 2011, they needed a marquee signing to lay down a real statement of intent at the Parc de Princes, and in doing so, turned to Zlatan Ibrahimovic 12 months later. The mercurial Swede has been on a pedestal far beyond the reach of his Parisian teammates for the last three years and while he hasn’t been able to bring Champions League glory to Paris, he has played an invaluable role in promoting Les Parisiens into the upper echelons of European football. However, at 33, thoughts must quickly turn to sounding out his eventual successor if they are to continue on a trajectory that culminates with European dominance.

For PSG, the ideal move would be to replace Ibrahimovic with club president Nasser Al-Khrlaifi's "dream signing" Cristiano Ronaldo. But rather than looking to spend up to £80m on a 30-year-old with long-term fitness concerns, perhaps they should instead be looking at assets closer to home, and to reward a striker that has been patiently playing his part in the club's continued success.

The Ligue 1 champions signed Edinson Cavani in 2013 as French football's most expensive signing of all time. The Uruguay international was prized from Napoli at the peak of his powers, having scored more goals (78) than any player in Serie A in his final three seasons at the Stadio San Paolo, a tally that only Lionel Messi (127) and Cristiano Ronaldo (120) could better across Europe’s top five leagues over that period.

Instead of looking to tinker with a formation that would accommodate both Cavani and Ibrahimovic as a front pairing, Blanc opted instead to cast his new signing to the left of a front three, with Ibrahimovic in his preferred position through the middle in a traditional 4-3-3 formation.

Staggeringly, PSG had just spent £55m on a player that couldn't play in his natural position. This, unsurprisngly, wasn’t a decision that initially sat well with the Uruguayan. There was a point just six months into his PSG career when Cavani considered leaving the French outfit. Unhappy with being cast out to flirt with the touchline paint, logically, the 27-year-old wanted to find a club where he would be used in his natural position. However, since then, he has carried out his work diligently and could now be rewarded for his patience.

If reports are to be believed, then Cavani’s ambition could become reality as early as PSG’s first game of the upcoming season. Last term saw Ibrahimovic make his fewest league starts in six years (23) and the 33-year-old has since cast doubt over his future at the club, which could pave the way for Cavani to finally be given an extended run in his preferred position. The switch would seem even more apparent with Angel di Maria’s arrival expected to be imminent, filling the hole that Cavani would leave out on the left with a natural winger.

In the wake of any potential Ibrahimovic departure, fans may understandably demand a replacement of equal stature and presence. However, if Cavani is able to replicate the form he showed at Napoli, then Blanc will have no need to search elsewhere.

Impressively, Cavani’s goalscoring form has not completely deteriorated since sacrificing parts of his own game for the good of the team. He has still managed 34 goals in the last two seasons - a feat only three players in Ligue 1 have bettered - and even showed a glimpse of what can be expected when he is given a central role in Ibrahimovic’s absence last season with 10 goals in 14 appearances in the league.

However, despite offering a rich source of goals, statistics still suggest that Cavani is being wasted out on the left and it would only be in PSG’s best interests to play him through the middle. In his final year at Napoli, he was averaging 4.6 shots per game in Serie A, a figure that he hasn’t come close to matching in either campaign at PSG (3.2). Similarly, Cavani averaged more than 30 key passes a season during his three years in Naples, whereas last year he finished with his lowest total in the last six years (14).

And while it may seem logical to assume Cavani’s shift to the left has seen him create more goals, he only managed 1 assist in Ligue 1 last season. Compared to Javier Pastore (5) and Lucas Moura (5) when they were called upon to share responsibilities on either flank of the front three, it's certainly a poor return.

Despite standing at exactly 6 foot, Cavani is an imposing figure in the air, accentuating his statistically calculated WhoScored strength of ‘headed attempts’. During his three seasons with Napoli, the Uruguayan averaged 23.6 headed attempts per season in Italy's top tier. Comparatively, last term he mustered just 13 headed shots on goal having been cast to the channels.

However, while Cavani’s impact has fallen considerably since signing for PSG, Blanc can rest assure that in Ibrahimovic’s absence; he still has a striker that has developed a real European pedigree. Cavani, who started five of his 10 Champions League games through the middle, finished the campaign as PSG’s top goalscorer in Europe's elite competition last season (6 goals). Ibrahimovic, on the other hand, could only muster 2 goals from 6 appearances in the same competitions

In fact, in his 26 appearances in UEFA’s elite tournament - spread between spells at Napoli and PSG - Cavani has netted 15 times, with each goal coming at a respectable rate of every 154.3 minutes. Of strikers to have scored more than 10 Champions League goals in the last six years, it is a rate that puts him in a bracket between Ibrahimovic (147.5mins) and Robert Lewandowski (145.7 mins) and the likes of Thomas Muller (177.9mins) and Gonzalo Higuain (190.9mins), drawing attention to his statically calculated WhoScored strength of ‘finishing’.

Cavani’s performances in the Champions League would also suggest he prefers playing on the biggest stage. The Uruguay international has finished each of his two campaigns at PSG with his highest WhoScored rating in the Champions League (7.17 in 2013/14 and 7.23 in 2014/15), which can only benefit a Parisian outfit desperately trying to win the Champions League for the first time in their history.

All of this, of course, hinges on what happens with Ibrahimovic. Cavani could well find himself out wide again next season, but after rejecting the chance to be part of any deal that would see Di Maria join PSG, you cannot help but feel the Uruguayan has his eye on his teammates jersey. And why not? He deserves it.

Does Edinson Cavani deserve to play through the middle or should Laurent Blanc look to buy a Zlatan Ibrahimovic replacement? Let us know in the comments below