After a strong debut, PSG's Matvey Safonov relishes his chance in goal, silencing January exit speculation with a commanding performance.
Author of a big match Saturday night against Rennes, Matvey Safonov has finally started his season with Paris Saint-Germain and is eager to compete for the starting role with Lucas Chevalier. At the club, they assure that a departure for the Russian goalkeeper in the January transfer window is not in the works.
Matvey Safonov is a happy and relieved man. After a season start spent impatiently on the Parisian bench, the Russian goalkeeper finally got his chance, and in a big match no less. Taking advantage of Lucas Chevalier's ankle injury, the former Krasnodar goalkeeper was thrown into the deep end on Saturday against Rennes and delivered.
Last year, at the same time, Safonov had already played 6 matches. His first against Rennes was very good, notably with that decisive save at 0-0 on a shot from Esteban Lepaul. The Russian goalkeeper stretched out to his full length to make a magnificent save, and on the following action, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia opened the scoring for PSG.
"I am very happy to have been able to start with a big victory," Safonov commented after the match on Telegram. "But the most important thing is not even the score. The main thing is that I again took great pleasure in playing. I think that is exactly what I missed last season: simply enjoying playing."
Safonov also admitted to having had a bit of stress before the match: "Looking back on last night, I realize I had no doubt, neither about my actions nor those of my teammates. I felt confident and understood what was expected of me and what I had to do. And the night before, at one point, I told myself it was very strange to worry about a match when you had prepared for it and waited for it for six months."
After thanking his supporters, Safonov also discussed what comes next, and he intends to do everything to play more: "I want to thank everyone once again for their words of encouragement. I am currently filled with positive emotions, and I now want to come back onto the field again and again and continue to do everything I can to achieve that."
In all likelihood, however, Safonov has not disrupted the goalkeeper hierarchy, and Lucas Chevalier should regain his place once fit, perhaps as early as Wednesday in Bilbao. But Safonov confirmed he is a viable option in goal, and in the short term, it is very likely we will see him play again in the Coupe de France against Vendee Fontenay on Dec. 20.
Does this distance fuel rumors of a departure in the January transfer window? "Ridiculous, these are speculations," PSG responded to L'Equipe, in response precisely to the rumors of a Safonov departure in January, recalling that he was recruited for five years in the summer of 2024. The sports outlet also reveals that Safonov's agent met with Luis Campos last month at the Campus and that "the question of a departure would not even have been raised."