PSG Stacks Up Front With Ferran Torres, Akliouche and Godts, Leaving Luis Enrique With a Luxury Problem

Five straight league titles. Two Champions League crowns in a row. With that resume, you'd think PSG had nothing left to fix. And yet Luis Enrique decided to add even more firepower to a team that already had goals to spare.

The arrival of Spain's Ferran Torres, who scored the goal that clinched the World Cup title for Spain, joins those of wingers Maghnes Akliouche and Mika Godts. Three more additions for an attack that already featured names like Ousmane Dembele (the reigning Ballon d'Or winner), Desire Doue, Bradley Barcola and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. The question hanging over the Parc des Princes isn't whether PSG will be a contender for everything again, but how Luis Enrique is going to divide up minutes among so much talent.

The Asturian coach explained it in his own way, playing down the drama:

Strengthening the team doesn't mean we don't trust the current players. Bringing in new players brings different energy and a different mentality.Luis Enrique

On Ferran Torres he was just as clear: "He can adapt to how we want to play. He can play in any attacking position." The trouble is that same description also fits Dembele and Doue, two players who have already earned a starting spot. Godts, for his part, arrived with a price tag of 55 million euros (about $64 million) and, unless Barcola ends up leaving for Liverpool as has been rumored, will have to settle for being another rotation option.

The season kicks off this Sunday with PSG hosting Rennes, a match that will offer the first clues as to how Luis Enrique plans to manage such a stacked roster. It will also, in the medium term, reveal how established players react to being left off the squad list.

Who Can Challenge PSG?

Lens was the toughest rival last season, finishing second and winning the French Cup before Pierre Sage left for Crystal Palace. The bench is now occupied by German coach Dino Toppmoller, who has already made a statement: a 1-0 win over PSG itself in the Trophee des Champions, with a goal from Florian Thauvin and with Zinedine Zidane, France's new national team coach, watching from the stands.

Marseille arrives with fewer certainties. Bruno Genesio was hired to restore order after a chaotic year that saw two coaches fired and an early Champions League exit. The departure of captain Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg stirred up internal tension, and Genesio himself didn't hide his displeasure: "It's a decision that was dictated to me by the club's management. It's not a decision I agree with. But I'm an employee and I have certain obligations to fulfill." Without Aubameyang or Mason Greenwood, scoring goals could be a real problem.

At Monaco, Filipe Luis takes charge with the task of restoring competitiveness to a team that finished seventh. Ansu Fati is now a fixture after his loan spell, while the Paul Pogba signing has yet to pay off: he barely played and already got injured in preseason.

Lille, third last season under Genesio before his move to Marseille, now depends on whether it can hold on to prized assets like Matias Fernandez-Pardo or young Ayyoub Bouaddi, for whom Manchester City is reportedly willing to pay the 100 million euros the club is asking.