Zenit Axel Witsel flattered by PSG interest

Zenit St Petersburg midfielder Axel Witsel revealed a switch to Paris Saint-Germain would be difficult to resist.

The 24-year-old has joined Zenit St Petersburg in a big-money move from Benfica last year. He has made 19 first-team appearances, scoring nine goals.

Following the reports Witsel failed to settle in Russia, several European clubs prepared to offer him an escape route from St Petersburg, with Paris Saint-Germain considered his most likely destination. The Ligue 1 side is rumoured to be interested in a part-exchange deal, including Ezequiel Lavezzi as a makeweight.

Witsel said: “For now my mind is 100 per cent focused on Zenit. PSG are one of the clubs who no player could be indifferent to. You could not refuse that.”

At the same time the Belgium international remains in the dark as to whether new PSG coach Laurent Blanc is interested in his services. He said: “Does Laurent Blanc like me? I do not know anything. All I know of him is his sporting career. In football, everything can happen quickly. But I cannot say any more about it, because I do not hold any of the cards.”