By Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip)

One of the lasting images from 2015’s final weekend of Ligue 1 action is that of Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Kevin Trapp’s teammates flocking to congratulate the German after he saved Andy Delort’s late penalty to secure a 3-0 win for the French champions away at SM Caen.

After three substantial mistakes in just over four months at Parc des Princes, the 25-year-old summer signing’s confidence had taken an understandable hit. Things started well enough for Trapp. The former Eintracht Frankfurt shot stopper kept four clean sheets in his opening four Ligue 1 appearances for PSG and looked immediately settled between the sticks for his new side. 

However, those shutouts were largely down to the rock solid defence in front of him and it was telling that the former Germany under-21 international only had one notable save to make in those opening four games; a stunning reflex stop in the 1-0 win away at Montpellier HSC. After keeping La Paillade, Lille OSC, Gazelec Ajaccio and AS Monaco at bay, Girondins de Bordeaux visited the French capital in early September and that is where the first error occurred.

With PSG 2-1 ahead against Willy Sagnol’s 10 men and just 11 minutes remaining, Trapp badly misjudged a pass back to him from Marquinhos and allowed Wahbi Khazri to steal in and score the equaliser. From that moment on, the knives were out for the man from Merzig and the French press were licking their lips in anticipation of another “Boulette” (French for blunder) from the new arrival.

They did not have to wait long. Under two months later, Trapp gifted Real Madrid the only goal of the game in a 1-0 defeat at Santiago Bernabeu in Group A of the UEFA Champions League and Les Parisiens’ No. 16 was under-fire again. The German had just about ridden out the storm created in the Spanish capital when he committed his third sizeable gaffe in the 5-1 thrashing of Olympique Lyonnais at home earlier this month.

On top of Trapp’s howlers against Bordeaux, Real and Lyon, the 1. FC Kaiserslautern youth academy graduate was also not exactly exempt from blame for Les Girondins’ first goal in that 2-2 draw back in September.  The same can be said for ESTAC Troyes’ consolation strike in PSG’s 4-1 hammering of the Ligue 1 strugglers in November.

Of all of his mistakes so far, Trapp’s blunder against Real in the Champions League was by far and away the mostly costly. As well as Edinson Cavani’s inexplicable first half miss, the goalkeeper’s error helped to pretty much directly decide that the French giants would finish second to Los Blancos in Group A. Considering Trapp’s relative inexperience at the highest level in Europe, it was inevitable that the pressure would overwhelm the player at some point during his early days in Paris.

Despite being Frankfurt captain before joining PSG, he only had one UEFA Europa League campaign under his belt. Suddenly being expected to walk into Laurent Blanc’s starting XI at the expense of Salvatore Sirigu in a seamless transition was an unrealistic assumption on the club’s part. The expectations in Paris are higher than they were in Frankfurt and the pressure to succeed is also greater. The clear objective for PSG is to progress in the Champions League and for the capital club, progress means going further than the quarterfinals this season.

Gradually introducing Trapp to the starting role would have been wiser, but the Ligue 1 juggernaut destroyed that possibility by immediately making it clear to former starting goalkeeper Sirigu that he is no longer wanted at Parc des Princes.  This is still the case, despite a shaky start to life in France for the Italy international’s replacement.

Sirigu is likely to depart in January, while formerly perennial substitute net minder Nicolas Douchez is also disgruntled because he has been shunted into a total reserve role and often does not even make the match squads. Trapp deserved the benefit of the doubt after his first two errors against Bordeaux and Real, but the customary rotation between starting and substitute goalkeeper for the 1-0 win over AS Saint-Etienne in the Coupe de la Ligue gave him a valuable moment to reflect before his Caen recovery.

Blanc has made his choice clear and in fairness has not been shown to be completely wrong in his assessment of Trapp. The German has saved two of the three penalties he has faced this season (Olympique de Marseille and Caen, while Malmo FF’s effort hit the post) and he has also kept a total of 16 clean sheets from 25 appearances across all competitions.

Le President’s liking for Trapp is largely based on the fact that he is strong in the air and is also comfortable with the ball at his feet, two areas that Sirigu has failed to truly convince in. The latter of those two qualities is arguably not the most important for a goalkeeper, but Blanc is influenced by the time he spent with Barcelona as a player and the 50-year-old Frenchman wants to replicate the Spanish giants’ style with PSG.

It is not only Blanc who has been convinced by Trapp either. The Germany national team’s hierarchy have also liked what they have seen from the former Frankfurt man. His call-up to Joachim Low’s squad for the ultimately ill-fated France and Netherlands November friendlies indicates that Die Mannschaft’s goalkeeping coach Andreas Kopke rates him highly and it is no surprise. 

The former Marseille shot stopper visited Paris to watch Trapp on multiple occasions in Ligue 1 and the Champions League, with the player keeping five clean sheets from six outings in Europe and 10 shutouts from 18 matches in Le Championnat. PSG were deservedly criticised for the way they handled the goalkeeper situation in the summer and they are rightly still getting some condemnation as Sirigu watches from the stands and Douchez starts to rot in the reserves.

Looking forward though, things are unlikely to change until at least the summer. Trapp will almost certainly keep his place in the starting XI, while Sirigu and/or Douchez will probably depart in January. Next season, a potentially interesting new scenario could arise at Parc des Princes too. Alphonse Areola, currently performing well on loan at Villarreal CF in Spain, will return to Paris at the end of the current campaign. 

A highly rated France youth prospect and a potential future heir to Hugo Lloris as starting goalkeeper for Les Bleus, the 22-year-old is also a PSG youth academy graduate and therefore an extreme rarity for the Ligue 1 champions. Trapp may well have seen off Sirigu, at least for this season, but Areola has the potential to be one of Europe’s best in his position. He has already received international recognition with France and his development over the past few terms with RC Lens, SC Bastia and now Villarreal has gone smoothly.

All signs point towards Areola returning to PSG with the ability to challenge Trapp for next campaign’s starting role. Trapp won the war with Sirigu without fully convincing, but it was not a fair fight to begin with. The French giants made it clear from the start, albeit in an awkward way, that the Italian is no longer a part of the long-term vision in the capital.

However, Areola is a part of PSG’s ambitious plans for domestic and European dominance, so could Trapp be about to face an even fiercer battle from the Frenchman?