"A hardworking, humble guy" - PSG loanee praised for his outstanding debut for new club
Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper has heaped praise on Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) loanee Keylor Navas following his impressive Premier League debut on Sunday (February 5).
Navas, 36, had slipped down the pecking order at PSG, with new manager Christophe Galtier picking Gianluigi Donnarumma in Ligue 1 and the UEFA Champions League. Looking for more game time, Navas put in a transfer request and signed for Forest on a season-long loan on deadline day (January 31).
Gracias a Dios un excelente debut! Muy feliz de disfrutar de volver a jugar!
DIOS-FAMILIA-FÚTBOL
Thank God it was an excellent debut! Very happy to enjoy playing again!
GOD-FAMILY-FOOTBALL https://t.co/YZgkjuq2AU
The Costa Rican goalkeeper made his debut for his new employers in a 1-0 win over Leeds United on Sunday.
After seeing the former Real Madrid keeper earn a clean sheet in his first game in England, Cooper lauded him for his commitment and humility, saying (via talkSPORT):
“He’s highly decorated, double experience, we know that. In the few days that he’s been, we’ve seen a hardworking, humble guy who regardless of what I just said about what he’s done in the game, he still would have wanted to do well today and show his worth because that’s what a guy of that level does, and he did.”
Navas made four saves against Leeds, with all those shots coming from inside the box. Cooper said that Navas’ heroics, coupled with Brennan Johnson’s 14th-minute goal decided the game for Nottingham.
“Brilliant in the first half, game managed equally as good in the second half, and in the end, it was individual moments in terms of Keylor’s save, Brennan’s finish that won us the game.”
With the win, Nottingham (24) moved up to 13th in the standings.
PSG are working on a contract extension for Lionel Messi, says sporting advisor
PSG sporting advisor Luis Campos has said that the Parisians are working on a contract extension for Lionel Messi. The 2022 FIFA World Cup's contract expires at the end of the season.
Lionel Messi has now accumulated 385 xG (expected goals) across his 19 season league football career.
He has scored 490 goals across these league seasons.
Just the 105 goals more than expected, because he do things like this finish he did yesterday.
https://t.co/27bZk7ZPE6
In a recent interview, Campos said that he wants the Argentine to remain in the French capital and that discussions about an extension are already underway.
“Right now, we’re having conversations with Messi about his contract extension. I’d like to keep him in the project. I’m not going to hide it. We’re talking right now to achieve this goal and continue having him with us,” Campos said.
Messi, 35, once again produced the goods for PSG in a hard-fought 2-1 Ligue 1 victory over Toulouse on Saturday (February 4). After Achraf Hakimi (38th minute) canceled out Branco van den Boomen’s goal (20 minutes) in the first half, Messi scored a stunning outside-the-box goal in the 58th minute to seal the win.