Paris Saint-Germain confirmed signing a five-year contract with French defender Nordi Mukiele from RB Leipzig on Tuesday. The defender has signed a five-year contract with the Parisians and will return to his hometown this season. After the taping with Les Parisiens, the defender said it was a “dream” to return to Paris after four years at RB Leipzig. Versatile French defender Nordi Mukiele had made 146 appearances for RB Leipzig in all competitions, helping them reach the 2020 Champions League semi-finals and win this year’s German Cup.
After signing Kylian Mbappe to the costliest deal in football history, Paris Saint-Germain was blasted for damaging football with an extravagant amount of cash. PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, on the other hand, promised that Mbappe was an exception. The club will no longer spend money on spectacular additions in the future. Manchester United had been keeping a close watch on the French fullback, as did Atletico Madrid, who were both looking to sign the 24-year-old in the summer transfer window.
Chelsea had been interested in Nordi Mukiele, but a five-year deal with PSG was believed to be in the final stages. Born in Montreuil but hailing from Paris, centre-back and winger Nordi Mukiele represented France at the U18, U19, U20 and U21 levels before earning his first international match for Bleus under Didier Deschamps in a World Cup qualifier football in 2022. Mukeile had proven himself at RB Leipzig after joining the club in 2018. The Frenchman has maintained the right side of the defence, and his superb achievements season after season have grabbed the attention of major players.
Nordi Mukiele‘s list of qualities is nearly ideal for a modern centre-back. We’ll begin with his build. He is a complete physical figure and a genuine threat in the air at 6’2. The young defender averages 2.3 aerial duels per match and is frequently seen heading balls away. Interestingly, given his aggression, he is a clean and well-timed defensive player, usually grabbing anything but the ball when he slides in for a tackle. As previously said, he has an exceptional ability to understand the game, which explains why he intercepts the ball at a rate of 2.6 per match.
This does not imply that he cannot dribble effectively; instead, he plays in a less conventional role than spectators have seen from other elite modern fullbacks, which causes him to dribble less than others. He has only averaged .7 successful dribbles per game and .6 critical passes per game. In various formations, the modern fullback has demonstrated the ability to make powerful runs along the wide channel while also running in as the inverted fullback to play off a more comprehensive forward and an inside midfielder.
