I questioned why we let Moise Kean leave for Paris Saint-Germain over the summer, saying his agent was meddling too much and it wasn’t smart to lose a striker without replacing him. I also questioned how he’d get much playing time at the Parc des Princes with Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Mauro Icardi for competition.
It turns out that Kean’s loan at PSG is going very well, however, and may benefit us in the long run if his buying option isn’t triggered. The 20-year-old is getting regular playing time in the French capital and has as many goals in just a handful of games as he managed in over 12 months at Goodison Park.
Maybe Kean needed a fresh start after flopping at Everton…
If we’re judging Kean on his debut season at Everton, it’s not a surprise he was moved on. The Italian international scored two goals and made two assists in 33 appearances, starting only eight games in all competitions. Kean amassed only 1024 minutes of playing time in 2019/20, so it’s fair to say he fell considerably short of expectations.
Richarlison (41 games, 15 goals, 4 assists) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (41 games, 15 goals, 1 assist) outperformed Kean last season and have been outstanding already this campaign (7 games for Richarlison, 4 goals, 2 assists) (8 games for Calvert-Lewin, 10 goals, 0 assists), so he was never going to dethrone the duo.
A new player at PSG
Kean struggled at Everton, but he’s been on fire in France. The 20-year-old has scored four goals in four games for PSG, notching twice in the Parisians’ 4-0 win over FC Dijon (October 24) and twice in their Champions League win over Basaksehir (October 28).
Kean has amassed 297 minutes of playing time from a possible 360 this season, so he’s being used more frequently than he ever was on Merseyside. He’s clearly thriving and PSG may be leaning towards triggering his buying option if things continue.
How does this bode for the future?
It’s complicated. Kean is hitting form while on loan at PSG is good news, as it may boost his confidence ahead of next season.
The bad news is that PSG are likely to sign him permanently on account of his good form, meaning we’ll have to sign a replacement in the transfer market.
Time will tell what happens over the course of the season.
In other news, how did Lucas Digne fare in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Southampton?