Saint-Maximin, Arsenal Chasing French Football's Next Hot Item

Every year brings our attention to young talent. The allure of future potential keeps fans in a state of anticipation whenever their club is rumored to be involved.

France has been a prominent provider of young talent over the years and is a favored area of scouting by big clubs.

The new name making the rounds of "hot prospects" is Saint-Etienne's Allan Saint-Maximin. The 17-year-old attacking wizard is the latest product of ASSE's youth academy to turn heads in the world of football.

Much like the handling of former ASSE prodigy Kurt Zouma, Les Verts coach Christophe Galtier has slowly integrated Saint-Maximin into his rotation.

Earning his first-team debut at age 16 against Bordeaux in a Ligue 1 match as a substitute in 2013, Allan has earned a more consistent place in the squad this season. This season he has been named to the squad in 12 matches, appearing in seven and starting in three of those. Included in his appearances have been a Europa match and starting at Ligue 1 leaders Marseille.

His time on the pitch has shown flashes of his great potential. His acceleration and speed make him a constant threat to latch on to balls played through or over the top.

When faced up with a defender, Saint-Maximin has a wide array of moves to gain space to beat his man for a shot, pass or continued run. During his time in the reserves, he showed good ability and potential on taking set pieces, a duty he has not taken over for the senior squad to date.

The variety of skills he possesses allow him to play anywhere in the attacking positions. His speed and ball skill may point to a more likely future as a wide player than as a central attacker at this point. The skill set and versatility does make him attractive to almost any formation and tactic.

It is this package that is already drawing interest from Arsenal, according to France-based journalist Matt Spiro (h/t 101 Great Goals). Arsene Wenger's history of chasing French talent makes this an easy connection but various outlets are publishing rumors of interest from Juventus and AC Milan as well (offthepost H/T Le10sport).

This attention is understandable as everyone wants to get in on the finding young gems before their competitors take interest and the cost goes up. Despite the talents and apparent bright future for young Saint-Maximin, it is probably best he remains at Saint-Etienne for another couple of seasons.

Like Zouma before him, he can get important game time against good competition in Ligue 1. This will help him adjust to the physical pounding defenders will place upon his young frame as well as work on the gaps in his game.

Saint-Maximin has been able to dominate his competition with his superior individual skill. He still needs some seasoning in how to best use that skill in the framework of the team. He needs to continue to find a balance in his game instead of going it alone too much.

The key thing to remember is that Maximin is still five months shy of his 18th birthday. There is plenty of room for growth and plenty of time for fans to see what heights his skills will allow him to reach.

For now he is the most wanted new toy this Christmas season, at least until the next hot thing hits the shelves.