Title-winner omitted from plans as club try to sell Leeds and Arsenal target

Paris Saint-Germain will leave Colin Dagba out of their first-team group for pre-season training, Le Parisien says of a defender linked with Premier League duo Arsenal and Leeds United. 

It’s all change at PSG. And not a moment too soon.

As president Nasser Al-Khelaifi put it, after a hugely underwhelming season for one of football’s most expensive assembled sides, ‘it’s the end of the glitter’ at the Parc des Princes. Goodybe ‘flashy, bling-bling’ – hello a new era of self-sustainability, overseen by Christophe Galtier (a coach with a superb track record with regards to constructing teams greater than the sum of their parts) and Luis Campos (the brains behind Monaco’s title-winning machine in 2017). 

Dagba, a homegrown academy graduate, may have been hoping for a fresh start in the French capital. Especially with PSG expected to make better use of a youth team that has churned out some of football’s most exciting young talents, from Moussa Diaby to Kingsley Coman, Mike Maignan to Christopher Nkunku. 

Arsenal and Leeds like Paris Saint Germain’s Colin Dagba

But, according to Le Parisien, the ship has already left the harbour as far as Dagba is concerned.

The 23-year-old will train apart from the likes of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe going forward. Campos, the club’s new sporting director, plans to split training up into two distinct groups. The first-team players in one, and those who are no longer part of PSG’s plans in the other. 

It is understood that Dagba, alongside fellow full-backs Layvin Kurzawa and Thilo Kehrer, belongs in the latter category.  

At least he has plenty of admirers. According to FootMercato, Villarreal, Mainz and Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt are keen. As are Leeds United. Then again, it feels unlikely that the men from Yorkshire will firm up their interest. They have, after all, already invested £10 million in the rampaging Rasmus Kristensen. 

Leeds also have Luke Aying and the promising Cody Drameh. 

Arsenal were also linked with Dagba earlier in the year, via FM. And, unlike Leeds, the Gunners do appear to still be in the market for a right-sided defender with Hector Bellerin up for sale and Cedric Soares far from convincing. 

Dagba started just three games in 2021/22 following the arrival of Achraf Hakimi from Inter Milan. 

In other news, Fabrizio Romano claims Leeds are working on new deal for £1.3m ace, Nottingham Forest want him