The season is not yet over, but Paris Saint-Germain is placing its pawns for the summer transfer window. Positioning itself for Grêmio offensive player Gabriel Mec (18 years old), the Ile-de-France club continues to work on the Russian side. After attracting Matvey Safonov from FK Krasnodar two years ago for 20 million euros, Paris Saint-Germain went for two big prospects from the land of the Tsars. Lokomotiv Moscow attacking midfielder who can play on the wings, Aleksey Batrakov (20 years old) remains for two full seasons with the Cheminots. Boss of his team, he has 17 goals and 12 assists in 35 matches with the Muscovites.
Still in the Russian capital, but with one of the rivals, CSKA Moscow, we find Matvey Kislyak (20 years old). In a role a little lower on the pitch, this box-to-box midfielder capable of playing a step lower as well as a step higher had revealed himself during last season, but broke the screen even more during the current exercise. He also became very (too?) big for the Russian championship with 8 goals and 8 assists in 41 matches. Alexey Batrakov like Matvey Kislyak are estimated at around 20 million euros and Paris Saint-Germain could go for this Russian tandem.
Aleksey Batrakov, the wisp of Orekhovo-Zuevo
Russian international since November 2024 (10 caps, 3 goals), Aleksey Batrakov has been splashing the Russian championship with his talent since his debut in March 2024. Showing good dispositions during his first appearances while being Russian U19 champion by being the Alpha and Omega of his team, he did the same thing during the 2024-2025 season by outmoding two other nuggets more referenced as Sergey Pinyaev (heralded as the future of Russian football since he was 12) and Nikita Saltikov (revelation of the Russian championship during the 2023/2024 season). Capable of scoring and making goals, he was logically rewarded with the title of best young player of the season. Expected this year to confirm, this pocket profile of 1m73 perfectly met expectations with an even better performance, but which was not enough for Lokomotiv Moscow to mix with Zenit and Krasnodar in the title race.
Technical, endowed with an impressive vision of the game, capable of scoring and making goals, he has been dubbed by many big names in Russia like Andriy Arshavin: “Aleksey Batrakov was excellent. But if I had to choose the best three, I would name Jhon Cordoba (Krasnodar), Stanislav Agkatsev (Krasnodar) and Batrakov.» Historical former president of Lokomotiv Moscow, Ilya Gerkus compared him to a player already at Paris Saint-Germain on his talent: “He’s definitely a superstar! A fantastic player! We haven’t had players like this for a long time. Maybe only Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. And he didn’t just play in the RPL, but in Napoli. I admit that this is Batrakov’s last season in Russia. Maybe even his last months.»
Former Russian international and Lokomotiv Moscow player, Denis Glushakov highlighted the personality of the young Russian crack on Match TV : “I really appreciate and admire Batrakov’s behavior off the field. He proved that he was an exemplary player in front of the press and on the pitch, despite his young age. He has not gone to his head by the money or the fame that surrounds him today. Everyone is excited around him, but he continues to play and get results. While Lee Kang-In has been mentioned for some time for a possible departure, Aleksey Batrakov could be the ideal replacement, because he has the same versatility as the South Korean and a profile a little more focused on the opposing goal. However, doubts could concern the physical aspect of the player, in particular his ability to adapt to the intensity of Ligue 1 and to integrate the Luis Enrique software which is very demanding.
Matvey Kislyak, Stary Oskol’s box-to-box
More defensive profile than his friend, since he would play exclusively in the middle three in the event of arrival at Paris Saint-Germain, Matvey Kislyak brings other qualities. Technically comfortable, it is especially on the athletic aspect that he offers guarantees. A true box-to-box capable of providing offensive support, he nonetheless remains an important recovery player. A fairly complete profile which could therefore provide competition to Fabian Ruiz, Joao Neves, Warren Zaire-Emery and Dro Fernandez while providing a solution to blow Vitinha away. Launched in September 2023 at CSKA Moscow, he has really been essential in this team for a year and a half. This season, he has reached the milestone in terms of efficiency and established himself as one of the very best players in the Russian championship.
“For me, PSG’s interest is not surprising. If this is confirmed, I will be delighted. This will greatly contribute to the development of Matvey. He seems to have unlimited potential.former CSKA Moscow player and Russian international Pavel Mamaev told Championship However, everything is not all rosy in 2026 for Matvey Kislyak who has performed less well since the resumption of the championship in March like his club. An observation that we could also address to a lesser extent Aleksey Batrakov who started the season like a cannonball and has had a little less impact since the restart. Former Manchester United player and Russian international, Andrei Kanchelskis noted it with of Euro-Football : “they are young and irregular players, which explains their periods of success and their periods of less good performance. In general, consistency is a sign of talent. If they play consistently, they will reach a whole new level, receive different offers and play for completely different teams.» For Aleksey Batrakov and Matvey Kislyak the potential is present and can hardly come close to what Aleksandr Golovin showed before arriving at Monaco in 2018 for €30M. It remains to be seen whether they will have a successful stint in France like their eldest, whose performance remains good, but lower than expectations – partly because of the injuries – that he had hinted at.
