Marco Verratti's agent Donato Di Campli rarely lets a week go by without discussing the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder's future and these past few days have been no exception.
The Italian international's representative most recently hinted at interest from Bayern Munich when he spoke with Calcio Mercato about his client's future but also insisted the 24-year-old will not be leaving the French champions this summer.
PSG have not had the best of seasons and although they could still add Coupe de France success to their Coupe de la Ligue glory, they are almost certain to fail to win a fifth consecutive Ligue 1 title and did not reach at least the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in five attempts.
Despite those difficulties, Verratti is up for this campaign's best player award in Le Championnat and his stock on the continent remains high.
This regressive term appears to have prompted some soul searching and the Azzurri star is now said to be looking for guarantees that the French giants are going to remain competitive in Europe before committing his future to the club.
Here is a look at the pros and cons of Les Parisiens parting company with their popular and talented No. 6.
For selling Verratti
The obvious main argument for selling Verratti this summer is that it will put an end to Di Campli constantly holding PSG ransom over the player.
The man from Pescara is tremendously gifted but his agent's behaviour is tiring and if he is not pushing for a move away from Parc des Princes, he is looking for a contract extension and then blaming its length a few months down the line.
Verratti's current state of reflection is said to be down to the failure of Unai Emery's men to get past the Champions League quarterfinals -- or even get there in this season's case -- and he is believed to be keen to see great quality added to the squad.
Ok, but Verratti must stop bleating about a lack of ability around him and accept that he too was part of the squad that capitulated to Barcelona in the Champions League last-16 back in March and turned a 4-0 first leg lead into a 6-5 aggregate defeat. That night, he was as mentally weak as his teammates.
Something else that could tempt PSG to cash in on Verratti is his fragile physical state. When fit and in form, he is sensational but there is also no denying that he -- and an alarming number of his teammates -- are too regularly injured.
In fact, it was when Verrratti got injured during the 2015-16 campaign that Adrien Rabiot really started to come into his own and the young France international's momentum has not really slowed down since.
Although Rabiot plays well in Thiago Motta's defensive midfield role, he is arguably better in one of the two more advanced roles in the middle of PSG's usual 4-3-3 formation. Verratti occupies one of those two berths, with Blaise Matuidi in the other.
The Italian being sold for a significant sum would guarantee Rabiot's future -- not set in stone at present with contract talks on hold -- and the French champions could then concentrate on finding a natural deep-lying replacement for Motta.
They could also continue to bring through bright fellow youth academy graduate Christopher Nkunku alongside Rabiot in Matuidi's place.
Against selling Verratti
The obvious argument against PSG parting ways with Verratti this summer is his undeniable quality. If he goes, there is no guaranteeing a similarly talented player will replace him and if he is, it will take most -- if not all -- of the money they get for their current star.
When fit and in-form, Verratti is Les Parisiens' most important player and this season he has demonstrated that he is back to his best after an injury-plagued 2015-16 campaign. After this term's showings, he must be retained as he is simply irreplaceable and makes the side tick.
It is also a critical moment in the PSG project. Verratti is not only a key player on the pitch, he is also an integral figure off it for the Qatari-owned behemoth and will be key to any rebuilding process that takes place this summer.
Considering the double hammer blow of Champions League and Ligue 1 failure, selling Verratti to what would have to be a continental rival just 12 months after losing talismanic Zlatan Ibrahimovic would be like waving a white flag for PSG's once ambitious vision.
If Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) really want to prove to themselves, their rivals and potential future signings that Paris is the place to be to challenge for the Champions League, Verratti must be kept along with big stars such as captain Thiago Silva, Angel Di Maria and Edinson Cavani.
Verdict
Had this season not been such a failure for PSG and if the project did not need such a drastic revamp, then selling Verratti could actually be given serious thought.
However, the current situation is as simple as this -- let him leave and kiss goodbye to what remains of the project.
It is absolutely imperative that Verratti is not allowed to leave Parc des Princes this summer and QSI must do everything they can to convince him to stay -- including offering him a bumper new contract.
Jonathan Johnson covers PSG and the French national team for ESPN FC. Twitter: @Jon_LeGossip.
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