It's not easy to exist in 2025 when you are a midfielder and in competition with Fabian Ruiz, Joao Neves and Vitinha. With insolent collective mastery and uninterrupted consistency since January, the trio showed that they were not swimming in the same waters as the competition today. At the cost, too, of Warren Zaire-Emery being withdrawn, left on the platform while the train moved forward without him.
Called to play the new PSG and rewarded with an XXL extension in April 2024 – making him one of the highest paid players in the squad – the French international was cut short in his tracks. His performances, much less successful than during his first seasons, also motivated Luis Enrique to make him an alternative to his starting midfielder. Except that for several weeks, the Parisian titi has shown character through performances, each more consistent than the last.
He is the outfield player most used by Luis Enrique this season
Very good in Barcelona (1-2), where he had perhaps been the best Parisian midfielder after learning of his tenure just after the warm-up (Neves had been preserved after bad sensations), he stretched this dynamic until the selection. Not summoned by Didier Deschamps, WZE agreed to return to Espoirs, where GĂ©rald Baticle made him his captain. “He comes back with us and we will give him momentum, a lot of pleasure and confidence to get back on track and get back into his World Cup routine. It is one of our objectives that it is operational with the A's.”confided GĂ©rald Baticle about him this morning. For the moment, the plan is respected: the 19-year-old midfielder delivered two big matches, however relative the adversity may be (6-0 victory against the Faroe Islands and 6-1 against Estonia), before confirming Friday against a very good Strasbourg team (3-3). Best Parisian on the pitch and credited with a 7.5 on our site, Zaire-Emery admitted after the match to having regained confidence.
“I feel good. I went with the Espoirs to regain this confidence. Touch a lot of balls, play forward. Today wasn't a bad match on my part. I feel good, I hope it continues like this. I’m regaining this confidence and I’m enjoying myself again.”savored the one who does not hide his ambitions to play the 2026 World Cup with the Blues. We sometimes tend to forget him, as he is such a precocious phenomenon, but Zaire-Emery is only 19 years old and would even have been eligible to play in the U20 World Cup currently with the Bleuets (he was born in 2006 like Eli Kroupi, Senny Mayulu, Jaydee Canvot…). Perhaps still too green to take on the role of starter in recent months, he now seems more comfortable with this role and the demands that it entails.
Obviously, the physical setbacks of Ruiz and Neves gave him space, but he still had to exploit it. According to The Parisianthe player never perceived his last two non-calls for the Blues as a punishment, neither in September nor in October. Above all, he questioned himself, without revising his objectives downwards. At the club, he is described as always listening to advice, both from the coach and from his partners. “He is not only a good player but he is also a good boy”indicates a source at Parisian. His preparation this summer would also be one of the reasons for this flashy return, after having suffered from ankle pain last year. It is no coincidence that Zaire-Emery is the outfield player most used by Luis Enrique since the start of the season (765 minutes, ahead of Hakimi's 744 minutes). Now it's up to him to transform the test.
