Paris Saint-Germain winger Ezequiel Lavezzi.
Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain is reportedly set to delay the move of Argentine winger Ezequiel Lavezzi to Chinese Super League team Shanghai Greenland Shenhua FC as head coach Laurent Blanc wants him available in the first leg of their Round-of-16 Champions League match against English Premier League side Chelsea FC on Feb. 16.
Caught Offside confirmed the report saying that PSG "may delay" the 30-year-old forward's transfer to China "to have him available" against Chelsea.
Les Parisiens have also defeated the Blues at the same stage of the annual European tournament last season and so this rematch is a chance for the reigning EPL champions to get back at their French rivals.
PSG finished second place in Group A behind La Liga powerhouse Real Madrid while Chelsea won Group G, but still the latter are the underdogs in the said matchup because of their current poor play in domestic competitions.
Les Rouge-et-Bleu is the "runaway leaders" in Ligue 1 this season, as they are ahead by 24 points from closest pursuer, AS Monaco, remaining undefeated through 25 games.
Meanwhile, the Pensioners are at the no. 13 spot of the Premier League table with a 7-9-9 win-loss-draw record. Their poor start to the season led to the sacking of former head coach Jose Mourinho last December.
Lavezzi has been rumored to be transferred away from France to China before the Chinese winter transfer window ends on Feb. 26 and it should be right on schedule after the first leg of the Champions League match.
The MirrorThe Mirror indicated that Shanghai Shenhua is "ready to pay up to £7.5 m for a player out of contract in the summer". Lavezzi was signed by PSG in July of 2012 from Italian Serie A squad SSC Napoli for £24 million.
Blanc spoke to reporters after his team's 2-1 victory over Marseille regarding their plans on the future of Lavezzi, saying that "we had anticipated this because we opened the door to Pocho during the winter transfer window. He did not take the chance. If he now leaves, we have not arranged to replace him."
"We will have to think about whether to keep him for Chelsea or not. If tomorrow, the attackers have muscle problems, we will have to think about it," he added.
The second leg is scheduled on March 9, which could mean that the Villa Gobernador Gálvez, Argentina is already out of France by that time.
