Paris Saint Germain defender Marquinhos admitted that interest from Manchester United made him happy and “feel validated”, but he has also gained confidence from the fact that PSG refused any negotiations with the Premier League side for him.
The young Brazilian has been linked with Louis van Gaal’s side for months now, as the English club is looking for defenders to reinforce the squad.
“Ia m calm, concentrated. I leave all this to my agent”, said the former AS Roma man
“Before, PSG refused to begin negotiations. They have shut the door. I see this as something to take confidence from.
“It proves PSG count on me but, to be honest, it gives me pleasure to see Manchester United are interested in me. Ita s validating.a
Laurent Blanc has gone on to insist that Paris Saint-Germain have no plans to sell Marquinhos in the summer as well.
“We did everything to keep Marquinhos and extend his contract,” said Blanc
“We have been showing him that he is very important and we are not ready to let him go. He is strong everywhere he plays and he is only 20.
“He is the third most-used player in the squad and people still say we don’t use him enough. Having players like him is very significant for a coach.
“Can he become a monster like Thiago Silva? He has the potential to become a very good defender. He already is, but he still has room for improvement.”
PSG paid around A?25m for the player back in July 2013 so it is obvious that the Parisian side will want to keep the player in the future, but if they do cash in on the talented centre-back, it is also clear that they will want to make a decent profit on him as Marquinhos has a huge future ahead of him.
Barcelona were also linked with the player in the summer but after signing Mathieu and Vermaelen, there were no more reports or links. Now, the Catalan club find themselves under a transfer ban so if Manchester United were to follow up further on their interest, they won’t face competition from the Spanish side, at least in the summer.
However, it seems clear that PSG are in no mood of selling the young Brazilian and see him as a part of their future and his as well.