Paris Saint-Germain Have Brutally Axed NINE Flops From Pre-Season Squad And Transfer Listed Them

Paris Saint-Germain have reportedly axed nine players from their squad ahead an upcoming pre-season tour.

The Ligue One champions, fresh from sacking Mauricio Pochettino and replacing him with Christophe Galtier, travel to Japan for three games.

PSG will play against Kawasaki, Urawa Reds and Gamba Osaka as part of their preparations for the new season.

But according to L'Equipe, plenty of household names will be left at home and have been deemed surplus to requirements in a monumental squad overhaul.

Image: Alamy

Though the squad has not yet been announced, it's believed that Gini Wijnaldum, Mauro Icardi, Ander Herrera, Layvin Kurzawa, Julian Draxler, Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe, Rafinha, Sergio Rico and Idrissa Gueye will not be part of the travelling party and will remain in France.

Image: Alamy

All nine players have therefore been made available for transfer by new boss Gaiter, as well as football advisor Luis Campos and sporting director Antero Henrique - who replaced the dismissed Leonardo.

Similarly, Le Parisien say Abdou Diallo is also out of favour at the Parc des Princes but is said to be on the verge of joining Serie A champions AC Milan, who tried to loan him in January.

Image: Alamy

In addition, the trio of Thilo Kehrer, Leandro Paredes and Danilo Pereira are also apparently on the list of "undesirables" but they may be more difficult to move on.

Wijnaldum's omission from the PSG squad comes just a year after he signed for the club on a free transfer.

The Netherlands international looked nailed on to join Barcelona but ended up moving to the French capital, signing a three-year deal and earning wages of more than £8.6million per year.

But the stint in Paris has been a disaster for Wijnaldum. He made 22 starts in 38 Ligue One games and didn't play a full 90 minutes in over two months at the end of the campaign.

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He scored just one goal and registered three assists in the league and was named as 'Flop of the Year'.

His lack of form led to Louis van Gaal removing him from his Netherlands squad and Wijnaldum will be looking for a fresh start ahead of the World Cup this year.

Former clubs Newcastle United and PSV Eindhoven have both been linked.

Topics: Paris Saint-Germain, Mauro Icardi, Gini Wijnaldum, Ander Herrera, Julian Draxler

Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and wrestling. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has interviewed some of the biggest names in the field - including the first UK interview with The Hardy Boyz after their return to WWE. He has never sported a pair of Lonsdale Slip-ons, contrary to reports.

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