Is Paris Saint-Germain's Jean-Christophe Bahebeck the Real Deal or a Fluke?

Will Paris Saint-Germain prospect Jean-Christophe Bahebeck establish himself in Laurent Blanc's starting XI?

Or, will Bahebeck turn out to be a flash in the pan when PSG reflect back on this season?

Nation	Position	Age	Height	Weight
France	CF/LF	21	6'0"	168 lbs

In a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-less PSG team, it was time for €64/£55.6 million-valued Edinson Cavani to cash in against an ordinary Toulouse back three (on paper).

Right-sided centre-back Dusan Veskovac commits more fouls (1.2) than tackles (1.0). Centre-back Dragos Grigore is still acclimatising to French football after eight years of Romanian football. Left-sided centre-back Francois Moubandje is in the infancy of his Ligue 1 career.

You presumed Toulouse's resistance amid Cavani's greatness would last as long as the straightness of an iPhone 6 Plus.

Instead, Cavani was outshone by Bahebeck, an academy graduate still figuring out if he is a bona fide first-team member or an asset to be sold off.

After winning a free-kick from referee Tony Chapron, Bahebeck's split-decision to charge forward may have changed his PSG career forever.

Toulouse centre-forward Wissam Ben Yedder was taking a breather and central midfielder Adrien Regattin was not being a nuisance in holding up play.

This allowed PSG central midfielder Marco Verratti to launch a swift free-kick in the direction of Bahebeck, who was doing his best Christophe Lemaitre impression. 

Accelerating past Moubandje and evading Grigore's desperate lunge, Bahebeck slotted the ball past Toulouse goalkeeper Zacharie Boucher.

Where was that confidence during Bahebeck's loans at Valenciennes and Troyes? 

"After two loan spells away from the French capital, there was a doubt that Bahebeck would ever make an impact at the French champions," per Andrew Gibney at Bleacher Report. "There were many suggestions that he just wasn't good enough to play in Ligue 1, never mind become a striker at one of Europe's top clubs."

Bahebeck Ligue 1 Only	Valenciennes 2013-14	Troyes 2012-13	PSG 2010-12
Goals/Games	2/18	3/26	0/19
Goals Per Game	0.11	0.12	N/A
Shots Per Goal	17.50	13.33	N/A
Starting %	55.56	61.54	5.26

If you judged Bahebeck purely on statistics—five goals in 44 combined Ligue 1 games over two seasons for two relegated clubs—you would earmark him for Ligue 2 or Championnat National level. 

However, PSG management looked at the bright side. 

An inswinging goal just outside the box against Lyon for Valenciennes was class and when Bahebeck was at Troyes, he clinically finished from a tight angle against Rennes. 

Credit: PSG.fr.

A member of Pierre Mankowski's triumphant French U20 FIFA World Cup squad and a Just Fontaine-esque scoring rate for PSG in pre-season (six goals in five games) swayed management to re-up Bahebeck's contract.

Extending Bahebeck's contract was paramount from a public-relations perspective. 

Kingsley Coman could end up being to PSG what Paul Pogba is to Manchester United—both French prospects elected to exercise their Bosman right to a free transfer.

Meanwhile, Adrien Rabiot, a complete midfielder, has rejected a €250,000/£195,017-a-month extension from PSG, per France Football (h/t Ian Holyman at ESPN FC).

Distraction to the Rabiot saga: Bahebeck commits his future to PSG.

PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi spun it as: "We want to show our confidence in our young players that have come through the ranks of our youth academy."

No spin translation: Signing Bahebeck to a long-term deal is designed to provide positive press about PSG's academy amid Rabiot's mutinous plan to do a Coman. 

"We are very proud that Jean-Christophe Bahebeck is signing up to become a long-term element of our project," Al-Khelaifi said, per PSG's official website. "He represents the future of PSG."

Sounds familiar, right? 

June 9, 2009. 

Then-21-year-old PSG prospect Loris Arnaud had his contract extended after two nonplus loan spells at Clermont and Angers.

"We're counting a lot on him [Arnaud], he's got a lot of talent and huge potential," PSG general manager Philippe Boindrieux said, per PSG's official website. "Our plan is to sign our kids, bring them through into the professional squad and stand by them."

Three years later, Arnaud failed to impress Middlesbrough on trial, per Philip Tallentire at The Gazette.

Another PSG product who had "a lot of talent and huge potential" was Nicolas Anelka.

As a teenager, Bahebeck was "dubbed the new Anelka by those in the know," per Bill Mann at The Week.

Instead of having the world at his feet, a la Anelka, Bahebeck just wants to justify his contract extension at PSG, unlike Arnaud.

@allanjianga

+allanjiang

Statistics via WhoScored