Sat in his post-match press conference looking out at the expectant journalists and fielding questions about his apparent new recruit Leandro Paredes, Thomas Tuchel replied matter-of-factly; “I’ve been waiting for a few days, but he’s not here. I looked for him in the showers, in the cloakroom, in the physio room, with the goalkeepers, but he is not there.” Laughs were drawn from those sat in front of him, but the Paris Saint-Germain coach’s intent was deadly serious. It was just three days before the end of the transfer window and Antero Henrique, the club’s sporting director, had only signed one central midfielder – a position in which they were, and still are, desperately short of options. While Paredes did emerge from wherever he was hiding in time to make his debut in his side’s Coupe de France game against Villefranche last Wednesday, Tuchel remains unsatisfied. And, according to reports from Brazil, he is far from the only one in the PSG camp to feel that way. Les Parisiens’ Brazilian contingent have made their desire for reinforcements clear and one amongst them would - you imagine - have been right behind Tuchel, frantically assisting the manager in his search for Paredes. The lack of midfield options has an effect on the collective, but one individual has borne the brunt of the problem more than others: Selecao centre-back Marquinhos. In the absence of specialists, he has been forced to spend a sizeable portion of the season playing out of position, filling in blank spaces for a club that has spent over €1 billion on recruitment since 2011. Since the turn of the year, the defender has been played in a central midfield role on three occasions, lining up alongside Julian Draxler in the middle of a 3-5-2 formation or with Daniel Alves as a central pairing in a 4-4-2. And even with the addition of Paredes, the Brazilian may not be relieved of his duties as a stand-in. Marco Verratti only returned from injury in Saturday’s league game against Bordeaux and, lacking match sharpness, could start on the bench as PSG take on Manchester United in Tuesday’s tantalising Champions League tie. Another option, Adrien Rabiot, has already been ruled out, banished to the club’s internal wilderness by Antero Henrique for refusing to sign a new long-term contract. Being a consummate professional, Marquinhos will not openly complain about being deployed away from his preferred role in the centre of defence, instead trotting out platitudes about ‘doing whatever the manager asks’. But deep down the resentment must be growing. It is not that he is incapable of performing the role; his delightful outside-of-the-boot pass against Villefranche showed that he has the range of distribution required, and his tackling and positional sense are beyond doubt. It is instead what he is foregoing as a result of the switch, what economists would refer to as the opportunity cost. Asked about his then-club-mate in 2015, Zlatan Ibrahimović was categorical in his response. “[Marquinhos],” the Swede said, “will be the number one defender in the world in a few years.” The Sao Paulo native has all the ability necessary to fulfil Zlatan’s prediction, as well as the leadership qualities to be captain of the Brazil national team and of any of Europe’s handful of international super clubs for the next decade. Unbelievably, given how long he already seems to have been performing at the top level, he is still only 24.