Paris Saint-Germain have continued their spate of summer signings with the capture of Lucas Hernandez from Bayern Munich on a five-year deal.
The French champions are understood to have paid €45m (£38.5m) to prise Hernandez away from the Allianz Arena, and the Marseille native returns to France after moving to Spain at the age of four.
Hernandez is the fifth player to walk through the doors at PSG this summer, joining Milan Skriniar, Marco Asensio, Manuel Ugarte and Lee Kang-in on the new arrivals list.
"I'm really excited! I've been waiting to join PSG for a long time, and it's finally happened. It's a very special day for me and I'm very happy to be here," Hernandez told the official PSG website.
The 27-year-old arrives at the Parc des Princes following a trophy-laden four-year spell at Bayern Munich, who paid €80m (£68.4m) to poach him from Atletico Madrid in 2019.
Let's make 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 in Paris 👀#WelcomeHernández ❤️💙 pic.twitter.com/MtXVIRBAAj
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) July 9, 2023
Hernandez went on to represent the Bavarian giants on 107 occasions in all tournaments, scoring two goals and providing eight assists as a centre-back or left-back.
The France international collected 10 major honours with Bayern, including four Bundesliga titles, two German Super Cups, one DFB-Pokal, the Champions League, the Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.
However, Hernandez's final season at the Allianz Arena was hampered by the serious cruciate ligament injury that he sustained while representing France at the 2022 World Cup, restricting him to a mere 11 appearances in all tournaments.
The defender scored one goal and set up one more in his farewell season, but he offered a positive update on his recovery in his first interview with PSG's media channels.
"A big injury like a ligament rupture is never easy," Hernandez said. "It's already been seven months since I suffered this injury. Right now you can rest assured that I'm at 200%.
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"I can't wait to get back to work with the team and, from day one, be at my best. My knee's fine. And frankly, everything's going really well.
"I'm very happy. It's true that this has been something I've been looking at for a long time, and now it's finally happened. I've always wanted to come here and it's true that it's a very special day for me and to come here with this ambition is something I've wanted for a long time."
Hernandez will reunite with France teammates Kylian Mbappe and Presnel Kimpembe at the Parc des Princes, and the defender also talked up his relationship with the Bleus duo.
"They're my friends, Kylian and I have been talking a lot lately about how to get here," Hernandez added. "As I told Kylian and even Presnel, I hope we'll win many more trophies and very important titles here at Paris Saint-Germain together."
However, Mbappe's next career move remains clouded in uncertainty amid his refusal to sign a new contract, and PSG are working to sell him this summer in order to avoid losing him on a free transfer in 2024.
Ben Knapton
