He’s fallen down the pecking order in Paris.
Javier Pastore was once hailed as the next big thing in football. His fine form in Serie A for Palermo earned him a big money move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2011, soon after the club received a huge cash injection from their Qatari owners.
However, as PSG continued to splash the cash, bringing in new attacking talent every summer, Pastore found it more difficult to hold down a place in the side.
He struggled to get into midfield ahead of Marco Verratti and Blaise Matuidi, and now has Adrien Rabiot to compete with.
As a result, he has been constantly linked with a move away to Manchester United. However, much like many players linked with United *cough* Sneijder *cough*, the move never materialised.
Eric Cantona would certainly like to have seen the move go through. He once said about the player:
“For me, the best player in the world is Javier Pastore. I watched two PSG games just to see him play. For me, he is the most creative player at the moment. Pastore is full of surprises. I love this kind of player.”
Having slipped way down the pecking order at PSG and United stocked full of attacking midfielders, he is close to joining Inter Milan on loan, according to reports.
The deal would entail a six month loan move with an option to buy in the summer; Inter’s spending ability is limited by Financial Fair Play restrictions.
PSG are resistant to allow their Argentine midfielder to leave on loan, though. They are holding out for a fee of €20m for the 28-year-old.
