The Expert: Draxler debuts in style for Paris Saint Germain

Sometimes, it just feels right. Even if January is hardly renowned for providing clubs with their best value-for-money signings, Paris Saint Germain already feel as if they have treated themselves to a tidy bit of business with the signing of Julian Draxler. Just one-and-a-bit games into his career, the Germany midfielder looks like the right man in the right place at the perfect time. Certainly L’Equipe, who described the new man as a “seducteur”, are already fairly convinced.  

The portents are certainly good. In hitting the first-half winner at Rennes on Saturday, Draxler became the first PSG player since Zlatan Ibrahimovic in August 2012 to score for the club on his Ligue 1 debut. He had, you may remember, already opened his goalscoring account for his new club in a useful cameo during last week’s Coupe de France demolition of Bastia. By the time he stylishly put Unai Emery’s side ahead just before the break in Brittany, the 23-year-old had impressed with his touch, vision and industry. 

Romain Danzé, who spent a tough afternoon attempting to contain the new boy in his role as Rennes’ right-back, was impressed by Draxler’s graft as much as his dazzle. “He’s a player of great class,” the captain said. “He applied himself well, and played simply, for the team. It’s fairly typical of a player that arrives in a new team.” Danzé expects him to express himself more on an individual basis in the games to come. “Maybe he’ll look to dribble a bit more after (settling in).” 

Maybe, maybe not. Clearly Draxler is a player with the ability to run games, as he did when he pushed Real Madrid to the brink of Champions League elimination last season in his Wolfsburg days. Much of his game tends to be built around a different kind of penetration, finding opportunities for teammates, as he did when making 2.1 key passes per game at Wolfsburg this season. The three dribbles he made in his 73 minutes of action at Rennes was slightly above the median for his career as a whole (2.5).  

He is a pragmatist too, and plainly made a lot of effort on the defensive end on Saturday, making two tackles, two clearances and an interception. In that sense, it is very encouraging for Emery that his new acquisition is prepared for the even more physically-based style of football that he will find in France, even if he has been brought in mainly with the Champions League in mind, one assumes.  

Much of this depends on his position, of course, and Draxler has played in a variety of roles, notably on both flanks and in the number 10 spot. There is little doubt that he will continue to fill the spot on the left side of attack, as he did on his PSG bow. That he should have to contribute defensively in this set-up is natural. Layvin Kurzawa, who occupied the left-back slot on Saturday, and Maxwell are both very attacking players, so cover will be necessary. At Rennes, Draxler typically held a fairly wide position, as we can see from the player average position map. The plus for Draxler is that Blaise Matuidi is always available to peel off from the midfield three and to help out on that side of the pitch.  

Another more notable feature of his positioning on Saturday, though, was his status as the PSG player who was typically placed the furthest up the pitch. Kurzawa’s runs can create space on either side of a full-back for Draxler for while you would expect a full-back to overlap, the left-back’s quality on the ball is such that he can bring it inside, too. He should get plenty of opportunities to strike at goal, especially at home, when he will be able to fully exploit being in a very possession-heavy side for the first time at club level.  

The real question, in terms of Draxler’s positioning, is how it might affect Ángel Di María. The Argentina midfielder, eventually introduced as a late substitute for Lucas Moura, did not look content, and one would imagine that speculation linking him with an eventual move to China will resurface in the next few days in the slipstream of this game.  

Di María has not been himself for most of this season. He has a goal and five assists in 14 Ligue 1 games so far, having scored 10 and set up 18 across his 29 league appearances last campaign. As his rate of key passes has only marginally dropped - 2.9 per match this season, as compared to 3.4 last term - it’s plain that Di María is missing Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with whom he has a close understanding, more than most in a purely footballing sense.  

In a way, Draxler’s arrival might make things clearer for Di María. If he starts, it’s always going to be on the right from now, you would assume, from where he’s played much of his best football since arriving in France. The problem with this is that Lucas Moura, who started there on Saturday, is one of Emery’s favourites, starting 18 of the 20 Ligue 1 games to date. 

It’s clear either way that Draxler has raised the bar, impressing players and staff with his quick integration. “He already speaks better French than Di María,” one anonymous member of the club’s staff told L’Equipe.  Already, PSG’s big winter investment looks anything but a gamble.