French competitor: will Safonov be able to become PSG's main goalkeeper

Luc Chevalier is close to joining PSG. According to L'Equipe, Parisians have sent Lille their first offer to buy the goalkeeper and are ready to spend more than 40 million euros. The Dogs are not against the deal, but first they want to decide on a replacement. For those who do not follow the French championship, the name Chevalier may not be familiar at all. We're figuring out who this goalkeeper is and why Matvey Safonov's PSG suddenly needed him, where everything seems to be in order with the goalkeeper line.

The heir of Menyang

Chevalier is a graduate of the Lille Academy. In the 2020-21 season, in which the Dogs won the Ligue 1 title, Luca was the third choice in his position: Mike Menyan was considered the main one, and Orestis Karnezis replaced him. After the triumph in the French championship, Menyan went to Milan, and Lille acquired Leo Jardim and leased Ivo Grbic — they shared playing time next season. Chevalier went to Valenciennes from the second division for playing practice — the team finished the season only 16th, but without Luca, it seems, it could be even lower.

In June 2022, Lille appointed Paulo Fonseca, who believed in Chevalier, who returned from the lease. As a result, the pupil played 35 matches and secured a place at the start. He has already spent three seasons as the main goalkeeper of the Great Dane, and following the results of the 2024/25 campaign he became the goalkeeper of the year in France. And this is despite the final fifth place and the lack of a ticket to the Champions League.

Chevalier became an excellent replacement for Menyan. He was appreciated in the locker room, besides, Luca has been a fan of the Dogs since childhood and constantly reminded of how much he loves this club.

However, why did PSG need Luca, where there are already two excellent goalkeepers? There would have been no talk of buying Chevalier if it hadn't been for the problems with Gianluigi Donnarumma. More precisely, with his contract. Gigi's agreement is valid until 2026, but negotiations on an extension have reached an impasse. The problem is the salary: the goalkeeper receives about 13 million euros and asks to increase the salary to 15 million. But PSG is offering less — 10 million euros as a fixed portion plus bonuses.

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According to journalist Sasha Tavoleri, the 26-year—old Italian is close to leaving for Chelsea or Galatasaray. According to Le Parisien, Manchester United and Manchester City are also bidding for Donnarumma. It seems that the probability that Gigi will start the new season at a new club is extremely high.

The power of the Chevalier

Now about the playing qualities of a possible PSG newcomer. It's not easy to compare Luca with Donnarumma and Safonov — last season, Chevalier played all 34 Ligue 1 matches, while his competitors shared playing time: the Italian appeared on the field 24 times, the Russian — 10.

There is good news for Matthew's fans here — Chevalier is more like Donnarumma in terms of his set of qualities. This is a traditional goalkeeper with a strong game on the line, but quite weak on the exits and when playing with his feet.

Comparison of Chevalier, Donnarumma and Safonov in the 2024/25 Ligue 1 season

Source: fbref

Let's explain the first criterion from the table — in other words, it is the difference between the danger of hitting the goalkeeper's goal and missed balls. It is calculated as follows: the actual number of goals conceded is subtracted from the PSxG (expected goals adjusted for the probability of being saved by the goalkeeper).

The average is about 0. And if there is a plus, it means that the goalkeeper is able to regularly pull out "dead" balls. Chevalier is cooler than both competitors by this criterion — it's not surprising that PSG is looking at him and offering serious money.

So who will play in the base — have Matvey's chances increased? In fact, you shouldn't worry too much — we know how Luis Enrique likes to rotate in the goalkeeper position. So the Russian will definitely get an internship. But whether he will have more chances to gain a foothold in the status of the first number is a question.

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Safonov couldn't beat Donnarumma in the PSG hierarchy. Yes, the Italian has had downturns, but in general he is much stronger than Matvey. And when in prime form, it can well be considered one of the best in the world.

Will Safonov be able to win the competition from Chevalier? Obviously, there are more chances of this. Simply because there are too many new introductory ones: the period of adaptation of a newcomer to a new club, experience, age, psychological aspect.

Still, it's hard to imagine that the 40 millionth Hatch comes to the store. There is a feeling that Safonov will keep this role, and Parisians will bet on the 23-year-old Frenchman.

But Matvey will have chances, they appeared even under Donnarumma, and we need to take advantage of them.