Tuchel on his former PSG striker Cavani: "He's living for goals, living for scoring. When he scores, when he has the confidence, he's one of the (best) number nines in world football."
Monday 19 October 2020 17:45, UK
Manchester United's Edinson Cavani remains one of the best strikers in the world, says Paris Saint-Germain head coach Thomas Tuchel.
The 33-year-old Uruguay international, who left PSG at the end of June, signed a one-year deal with United earlier this month.
Cavani was required to undergo a mandatory two-week quarantine period following his arrival in the UK, which ruled him out of contention for Saturday's 4-1 victory over Newcastle in the Premier League but he trained with his Old Trafford team-mates over the weekend and is available for selection to face his former club in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Tuchel knows what to expect from the striker, who scored a record 200 goals in 301 matches for PSG.
"They've got a great personality, like with many of the biggest players of the game," the head coach said. "It's the same with Edi.
"Very polite, almost a bit shy. Hard, hard worker. He will be there in every training (session) first minute until last minute. Every game from first second until last second. You can totally rely on him.
"He's living for goals, living for scoring. When he scores, when he has the confidence, he's one of the (best) number nines in world football.
"Hopefully he will show, not tomorrow but from Wednesday on, he can start to convince all of you. I have nothing against that. But tomorrow it's not necessary to prove me right."
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has fond memories of PSG, having all but secured the United manager's job on a permanent basis when he oversaw a record-breaking Champions League last-16 win over them 19 months ago.
No side had ever overcome a two-goal home loss and progressed from a knockout match in the competition's history, but United rolled back the years to seal a memorable 3-1 triumph in March 2019.
"Obviously we don't have very, very good memories," Tuchel said. "We had a good result (a 2-0 win) at Old Trafford. In the end it wasn't a very great outcome for us, but we've had a very great run last season for the Champions League.
"Now, of course, it's a challenge not to think about too much last season, nor about two seasons ago. This doesn't help.
"Now we have to overcome these difficulties, we have to show what we are able to do now and we start this new Champions League with zero points and we have to play."
Marcus Rashford is relishing the competition and quality Cavani will bring to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's squad at United.
"As a forward line [the arrival of Cavani] is something to look forward to," he said. "Hopefully he comes in and scores goals, because he can definitely help us win games and points.
"He can be a massive player for us this season. To win two or three trophies in a season you need a squad, it's not possible if you don't have people who can score goals one week and the next week, it's just not possible without three or four forwards in a team.
"Growing up, United always had four or five forwards who could score goals at any time. The closer we get to that, the more strength we'll have."
