Five new signings to watch in Ligue 1

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The 2023/24 French Ligue 1 season kicks off this weekend with Paris Saint-Germain the overwhelming favourites to win another title despite Lionel Messi’s departure and the uncertainty surrounding the future of Kylian Mbappe.

With Messi having left and Mbappe possibly on his way out too, PSG needed to strengthen their attack. In truth Ramos might be exactly the profile of striker they have been crying out for since Edinson Cavani departed in 2020. The 22-year-old scored 19 goals on Benfica’s run to the Portuguese title last season and helped the Lisbon giants reach the Champions League quarter-finals. He also announced himself to the wider world with a hat-trick in Portugal’s 6-1 win over Switzerland at the World Cup. Ramos has already started to prove himself at the highest level but also has bags of potential still unfulfilled. He has joined on an initial loan deal but PSG have an option to make the move permanent at the end of the season, and the fee could eventually reach 80 million euros ($88m) according to reports.

PSG looked short in defence last season and have moved to rectify that by signing Inter Milan centre-back Milan Skriniar as well as Hernandez, who arrives from Bayern Munich on a five-year deal for a reported fee in the region of 40 million euros. Born in Marseille but brought up in Spain, Hernandez offers versatility as the 27-year-old can play in central defence or at left-back. However, there are some doubts about the injury record of a player who won the World Cup with France in 2018. The former Atletico Madrid man missed the second half of last season after rupturing the ACL in his right knee at the World Cup in Qatar.