While his brother Theo may be gaining more plaudits at Milan, Lucas Hernández is slowly putting himself back into the foray after enduring a difficult end to his career at Bayern Munich.
After suffering an ACL rupture in his right knee during the first 20 minutes of France’s World Cup campaign, Hernández missed the remainder of the tournament, and would also be sidelined for the remainder of the 2022/23 season as Bayern Munich became Bundesliga champions for a record eleventh consecutive season. The Frenchman didn’t feature for Bayern between January and June, missing a total of 35 games for France and the Rekordmeister with his presence in defence evident.
After a difficult start to life in Bavaria after a then club record €80m move from Atlético Madrid in 2019, Hernández established himself as one of Bayern’s influential figures in defence following the departures of Jérôme Boateng and David Alaba. With exceptional decision-making, composure and ability to read the game, the Frenchman featured 107 times for Bayern over the course of his tenure. But with an expiring contract, Bayern were reluctant to lose Hernández on a free transfer.
Talks between Bayern and Hernández’s representatives opened in March with the Allianz Arena outfit showcasing their intent on keeping the Frenchman, even despite his injury record. But in June, despite a three-year contract extension on the table, Bayern were dealt a blow when the defender told the club that he wished to leave after four years to join French champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Hernández winning over sceptics at PSG
As PSG pursued Hernández, this was met with hostility from some of the club’s fanbase, including ultra group leader Romain Mabille, who were against his signing. As we reported in the summer, Mabille and Co. were reportedly upset over the exuberance with which Hernandez, and his Bayern teammates, celebrated their 2020 Champions League final win over PSG in Lisbon, supposedly poking fun at Paris and taking a Marseille slant, who remain the only France club to win the European Cup and often enjoy reminding PSG of the fact.
But after reaching a €45m agreement with Bayern, PSG and Hernández got their wish. Since his switch to Les Parisiens, the 36-time capped France international has enjoyed an injury-free campaign since July and has already played 20 games across all competitions this season. Often lining up at left-back, Hernández has struggled at times, but has showcased his ball progression skills and per FBRef, averages 6.46 progressive passes per 90, with a high degree of accuracy (89.8%), putting him in the 95th percentile for defenders across Europe’s top five leagues. Despite his critics, Hernández can be an astute signing for PSG with the right coaching.
