Paul Frederiksen-USA TODAY Sports
What a year it has been for Marcos Aoas Correa, better known as Marquinhos. In July 2012, Marquinhos was just still a youth-team player for Brazilian club Corinthians, having made six senior team appearances, but his journey to Europe would begin in earnest as he caught the eye of AS Roma scouts and was signed up to go play for the Italian club.
Sixteen first team appearances later and Marquinhos had established himself as one of the hottest young prospects in all of football (soccer) as he proved to be a player, who despite his age, played and read the game at the central defender position like a seasoned veteran.
As a result of his displays and the interest of bigger clubs, AS Roma decided to cash in on their investment and received an offer they could not refuse from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) as the big spenders splashed out 35 million Euros for the defender. Clearly, PSG have splashed out such a large sum of money on a 19-year-old based on his considerable potential and upside. With that in mind, fans and observers of PSG must give the young player the necessary space and room to develop and mature as a player.
In many ways, Marquinhos will be starting his PSG career with some unnecessary pressure and expectations. This is because of the transfer fee paid by PSG to AS Roma for the young central defender, because he has joined PSG, so much will be expected of him in general and the success of Lucas Moura in his first six months at the club.
All the above factors should not be reasons to expect for Marquinhos to hit the ground running at PSG. For starters, it’s not his fault that his former club was able to use the fact he was a hot prospect to be able to begin a bidding war for his services. Therefore, don’t look at the transfer fee paid out for Marquinhos by PSG in determining how well he does in his first season given that he is clearly a player for two to three years down the road.
Also, to expect and assume he will make a similar impact like compatriot Moura did when he joined PSG in January from a big money move from Sao Paulo is comparing apples and oranges. Because Moura plays a attacking position, it is easier to ease a young player like him into a squad since with attacking players, they can make mistakes and get away with them not hurting the team as they can also produce some brilliant plays that overcomes the course of a game.
In the case of a young central defender like Marquinhos, the margin of error to be able to find yourself and settle in are greatly reduced. Therefore, new PSG coach Laurent Blanc will need to feel 100 percent comfortable with his young central defender before making him a regular and or semi-regular player in his starting eleven. Blanc, having been one of the best in that position during his playing days, knows this to be the case.
Now Marquinhos has alot to suggest that he will end up being that stud central defender. First and foremost is his talent. Just look at how he, within a year, went from playing mainly U17 youth games to at the end of the Serie A season, was a no question starter at central defender. Second, he will be playing with veteran countrymen Thiago Silva and Alex, both of whom can help guide him along and help his development as a player.
The high price paid by PSG for Marquinhos is a risky one for such a young central defender, who despite showing alot of promise is still far from being a polished product. With that in mind, ignore the price PSG paid for him and give him the necessary space to grow and develop as a player, after all, he is only 19 years old.
Lucas Carreras is a contributing Soccer writer for www.RantSports.com. You can follow Lucas on Twitter by following him @maldini3fan and you can add him to your circles on Google+.
