PSG are on the brink of completing the signing of Goncalo Ramos from Benfica. The 22 year old striker looks set to move to the French capital in what is being reported as an €80m deal consisting of €65 up front with a further €15m in potential add-ons.
The signing of Ramos would be PSG’s most expensive signing of the summer 2023 transfer window, also eclipsing what they look set to pay Barcelona for the transfer of Ousmane Dembele. The duo would significantly add to Luis Enrique’s attacking options with the former Spain boss gearing up for his first season in Ligue 1.
Ramos is fresh from a massive breakthrough season in Portugal. He scored 27 goals for Benfica in all competitions and was rewarded with a first international call up last September. A move to one of Europe’s strongest sides would complete a whirlwind rise for Ramos who was predominantly a Benfica B team player as recently as the 2020/21 season.
PSG are close to an agreement to sign Benfica forward Goncalo Ramos in an €80 million deal ⏳ pic.twitter.com/wLngPaA0ra
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 3, 2023
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Why PSG are trying to sign Goncalo Ramos
A fast learner
Ramos’ rapid rise would suggest that he’s a player who learns quickly and is very aware of his own strengths and weaknesses and some of the ways to overcome his flaws. A lack of pace is one of those, but Ramos has been praised for his good positional sense and smart movement.
Those are qualities that are not always found in players so young but help explain why Goncalo Ramos has managed to progress so quickly over the past twelve months from his role as something of a squad player at Benfica during the 2021/22 season to a guaranteed starter last term and now potentially an €80m man.
PSG will be hoping some of those qualities will help him settle quickly into life in Ligue 1. He’s the kind of forward others will look to play off so building an understanding with his new teammates will also be important if he’s to hit the ground running in France.
A player who relishes the big stage?
Another factor that may have convinced PSG to try to sign Goncalo Ramos is his seeming ability to produce his best football on the big stage and at important moments. That was particularly evident at the World Cup when Fernando Santos surprisingly opted to drop Cristiano Ronaldo and instead play the inexperienced Ramos in the Last 16 showdown with Switzerland.
Many young players may have struggled with the pressure of not only being thrown into such a big World Cup knockout game, but doing so at the expense of one of the greatest players of all time. However Ramos rose to the occasion with a stunning performance, scoring a hat-trick in a 6-1 victory over the Swiss, not bad for a player who had only scored one international goal prior to the match.
PSG would also have been impressed by the striker’s record in Champions League football. Ramos bagged 7 UCL goals last season including a brace against Club Brugge in the Last 16. His first Champions League goal also came on the big stage at Anfield in the Quarter Finals of the 2021/22 competition.
A reliable source of goals
With Kylian Mbappe potentially heading to Real Madrid, PSG are clearly conscious of the need to replace the immense goal threat provided by the Frenchman. While summer signing Marco Asensio has a decent goalscoring record from a wide role, the Ligue 1 champions haven’t really addressed the issue in this transfer window until this point.
Ramos’ goalscoring record was impressive last season. He averaged a goal every 121 minutes in the Portuguese top flight with Porto’s Mehdi Taremi the only player to better his tally of 19. He netted 31 times for club and country during the 2022/23 season overall and at 22, there is clearly still plenty of time for the young striker to improve and further develop his game.
