Jese Rodriguez cannot be written off as a failure despite being sent on loan to Las Palmas, says Paris Saint-Germain coach Unai Emery.
After signing from Real Madrid for an estimated €25million last August, Jese struggled to establish himself at the Parc des Princes and made just two of his 14 appearances in all competitions as a member of the starting line-up.
In a bid to rediscover his best form, the 23-year-old has agreed a return to boyhood club Las Palmas until the end of the season.
Emery hopes Jese will return to PSG reinvigorated and capable of proving his worth to the Ligue 1 giants.
"He has the opportunity to grow in a different situation. He needs to play," Emery told a media conference ahead of Wednesday's Coupe de France meeting with Rennes.
Jesé ya se encuentra en Gran Canaria, bienvenido January 31, 2017
"If you say he's a failure it may not be true in the future. For me, this has not been a failure yet.
"With this loan, we think he can grow because it is more difficult in Paris. He must look for his own path and then return to PSG."
Emery will be without goalkeeper Kevin Trapp for up to two weeks after he was forced off in the second half of Sunday's 1-1 draw with Ligue 1 leaders Monaco, with Thomas Meunier and Angel Di Maria joining him on the sidelines.
"I hope Trapp's injury is not serious. Normally it's one or two weeks," said the coach.
"Thomas Meunier also took a knock to the knee and is not ready and Marco Verratti is still working with the physios.
"Angel Di Maria has muscle pain and will not be available tomorrow [Wednesday], too."
Alphonse Areola will deputise for Trapp, despite facing criticism over some of his more recent performances.
Emery said: "Trapp will miss roughly 10 days and we must continue to push forward with Alphonse Areola.
"He must work to improve and improve his confidence. It's very important that we are all beside him to help him improve his performance.
"Alphonse had a very good start to the season, then he was injured for three weeks and did not perform as well upon his return.
"He knows that we will do everything to give him confidence. The rest is up to him."
