In his first season with Paris Saint-Germain, could Lee Kang-In start from the opening whistle?
PSG will kick off the 2023/24 season with a Ligue 1 first-leg home game against Lorient at the Parc des Princes at 4pm on the 13th.
In the run-up to the game, with news of Kylian Mbappe’s departure and Neymar’s exclusion from the team’s plans continuing to emerge, many PSG fans have been focusing on the opening day line-up and whether or not Lee Kang-In, who joined PSG in the summer transfer window, will feature.
Initially, it is unclear if Lee will even be available for the opening game.
With the media and Ligue 1 predictions mixed,바카라사이트 only the matchday squad list will tell us if Lee will start against Lorient. It will be interesting to see if Lee can break into the league starting line-up from the start of next season.
He picked up an injury at the start of pre-season.
He started the first pre-season friendly against Le Havre at PSG’s training ground, Campus PSG, in Poissy, France, just outside Paris, on 22 August. He had an excellent first half, but the bad news came just before half-time when he felt pain in his thigh during a sprint in the 42nd minute and was subsequently taken off with a hamstring injury.
Lee touched his right thigh with his head down, right in front of Enrique. With no need to overdo it in a friendly, Enrique immediately replaced Lee with another player.
Contrary to fears, the injury did not appear to be serious. He was named in PSG’s roster for their Asia tour and appeared on the team’s official calendar, so it’s not like he’ll need to focus on rehabilitation.
However, PSG did not rush Lee’s return. He hasn’t trained with the team since his arrival in Japan, spending most of his training time indoors on his own. Even in the open training session before the friendly against Alnasr, he was seen greeting the fans before heading straight to the indoor training area.
Ahead of the final match in Japan, against Inter Milan, Lee returned to some team training to improve his chances of playing, and made his Asian tour debut in South Korea.
Luis Enrique announced his availability ahead of the PSG-North Korea friendly in Busan on 3 March, and the midfielder then took to the pitch as a second-half substitute to check his fitness, confirming that he is on track to be ready for the start of the season.
After appearing in the final pre-season game, Lee also featured in the training sessions leading up to the Lorient game, raising hopes that he could be in the starting line-up from the opening day of next season.
With the media and the Ligue 1 secretariat predicting PSG’s starting line-up against Lorient, there has been a lot of speculation as to whether Lee will start or not.
L’Equipe, a leading French media outlet, predicted Lee’s selection. “PSG in a 4-3-3 with Lee Kang-in up front against Lorient,” L’Equipe reported on the expected starting line-up on the 10th (KST).
L’Equipe named Lee as the left winger in a 4-3-3 formation. According to L’Equipe, PSG’s new coach Luis Enrique will deploy Lee in a front three alongside recent signings Gonçalo Hamus and Spain international Marco Asensio against Lorient.
In midfield, Vitinha will be joined by Manuel Ugarte and Warren Zaire-Emery. The back four will be, from left to right, Luca Hernandez, Milan Skriniar, Marquinhos and Ashraf Hakimi. The goalkeeping gloves are set to remain with incumbent Gianluigi Donnarumma, an Italy international.
“I think he’s definitely ahead of Carlos Soler,” Lekiff said, confirming that the left winger’s starting spot is his.
Lee has already been a regular on the left wing for Mallorca in the 2022/23 season and has shown a number of incisive crosses and passes to the frontline strikers when playing on the left wing, so it could be a good start to his PSG career.
The names of Mbappe and Neymar were nowhere to be seen in Leroy Ferdinand’s line-up, while traditional centre-back Marco Verratti was also left out of the squad as the possibility of an Alhilal move grew.
On the other hand, the Ligue 1 secretariat did not mention the possibility of Lee Kang-in starting.
The Ligue 1 secretariat announced the starting line-up for PSG’s new season on its official website on 10 October, titled “How PSG’s 2023/24 season will be organised”.
The Ligue 1 secretariat said: “The new season is a time of change at PSG. Enrique hopes to imprint a new look on his attacking style. Let’s see how they go into their first game,” and expressed their excitement for PSG.
The Ligue 1 coach first named Mbappe, Neymar and Verratti as possible absentees, as did Lekip. “Mbappe will definitely not feature in the opening game. Verratti and Neymar are also doubts for the first game,” he said.
Ligue 1 predicted Marquinhos and Milan Skriniar at centre-back, with Hakimi and Hernandez at full-back. In midfield, Ugarte or Danilu Pereira will be the holding midfielders, with Vitinha and Zaire-Emery emphasising their attacking roles in the middle.
However, Lee’s name was not among the Ligue 1 side’s opening XI. He expects Asensio to play a false nine up front, while Carlos Soler and Noah Lemina will be the first two wingers to get a chance. Ligue 1 says: “Soler is increasingly likely to be trusted on the right flank. At left winger, where Neymar is the first choice, Lemina could be given a chance if he is unavailable,” and did not include Lee Kang-in in the starting XI.
Ligue 1 only mentions Lee in the introduction to the newcomer, saying “Lee is part of PSG’s midfield revolution alongside Manuel Ugarte,” but doesn’t even mention him in the starting line-up.
With the media and Ligue 1 predictions mixed, only the matchday squad list will tell us if Lee will start against Lorient. It will be interesting to see if Lee can break into the league starting line-up from the start of next season.