5 Youngsters with Best Chance of Breaking Through at PSG in 2015
In the years since Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) took control of Paris Saint-Germain back in 2011, there have been less and less talented youth academy graduates breaking into the first team squad.
The 19-year-old Adrien Rabiot has made the step up and appears to be an important part of the future at Parc des Princes, while 21-year-old Jean-Christophe Bahebeck is doing his best to be more than just a supersub for coach Laurent Blanc.
Homegrown midfielder Clement Chantome is in his 15th year at the club—although he did spend last season on loan with fellow Ligue 1 outfit Toulouse. However, there are few other self-reared talents in the French champions’ squad at present apart from backup goalkeepers Mike Maignan and Mory Diaw.
More substantial is the list of top talents, developed by the club, who have been allowed to leave since the QSI takeover.
Liverpool and France international Mamadou Sakho is the most obvious homegrown departure of the Qatari era, while Kingsley Coman, Antoine Conte, Loick Landre, Neeskens Kebano and Granddi N’Goyi have also been allowed to leave.
At present, a number of PSG’s young potential gems are out on loan. However, realistically, they have the odds stacked against them to break into a star-studded first team squad.
Here are five youngsters who will probably come closest to breaking through in 2015 though.
5. Jean-Kevin Augustin
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Already the subject of serious interest from West Ham United, but also chased by Juventus, AS Roma, SL Benfica and FC Porto according to talksport.com, PSG’s Jean-Kevin Augustin appears to have a bright future ahead of him.
Still only 17, the versatile attacking talent is one of the next in line to make the step up to the first team under Blanc (pictured). Augustin has been skirting the fringes of the senior squad, making the bench on a number of occasions, but is yet to make a full, competitive appearance for Les Parisiens.
Capable of playing through the middle or out wide on either side, the PSG man has managed three goals in eight appearances in CFA Groupe A with the reserves and also netted four times in five appearances in the UEFA Youth League.
Born and raised in Paris, Augustin could also play for Haiti through his family roots.
4. Jeremi Kimmakon
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A summer arrival from Ligue 2 side La Berrichone de Chateauroux, Jeremi Kimmakon is a talented 20-year-old wide man.
Like Augustin, he has been on the fringes of the first team this season, but Blanc (pictured) also handed the youngster his senior debut when he came on in the 3-1 Coupe de la Ligue win over AC Ajaccio late last year.
Kimmakon has scored three times in 10 appearances for PSG’s reserve side in CFA-A, but has not featured in the UEFA Youth League.
Thanks to his family hailing from the Ivory Coast, the PSG No. 34 could go on to represent Les Elephants at international level in future.
3. Youssouf Sabaly
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PSG’s Youssouf Sabaly is yet to make his debut with the French champions at senior level, yet he has been a regular in the Evian Thonon Gaillard team since last season.
On loan in Annecy, but playing regular minutes in Ligue 1, the Coupe de la Ligue and the Coupe de France, the 21-year-old is likely to return to Parc des princes this summer.
Although Sabaly might not a long-term fit for the capital club, the fact that he can play on both sides of the defence works in his favour.
With Gregory van der Wiel not as impressive as he was last season and Maxwell ageing, Sabaly could provide a useful backup option assuming that the likes of Serge Aurier and Lucas Digne become first choice starters.
Sabaly’s family come from Senegal, although the player was born and bred near Paris, so could ultimately pledge his international allegiance to the Lions of Teranga.
2. Presnel Kimpembe
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Like Augustin and Kimmakon, Presnel Kimpembe has also been flirting with the first team this season. However, unlike the other two, Kimpembe has actually featured in Ligue 1 for PSG already.
The 19-year-old defender, capable of playing in the middle or out wide on the left, made his professional debut when he replaced Thiago Motta for the final 14 minutes of the 3-1 win over RC Lens at Stade France back in October.
"100% - Presnel Kimpembe is the player who has attempted the most passes without missing one in Ligue 1 2014/15 (16/16). Newcomer.
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) October 20, 2014"
A regular with the reserves in CFA-A, he has featured 12 times so far this season. Of all of the bright young talents in the academy at present, Kimpembe is perhaps the one closest to breaking into the first team because of the relative lack of depth in central defence.
Born and raised in the Parisian suburbs, Kimpembe could go on to represent the Democratic Republic of the Congo in future through his family.
1. Alphonse Areola
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One of the heroes of France’s FIFA Under-20 World Cup win of 2013, goalkeeper Alphonse Areola is perhaps the most likely of all of PSG’s current youth academy graduates to break through this year.
In his second consecutive season of first team football, this time with Ligue 1’s SC Bastia after spending last campaign with Lens in Ligue 2, the gifted 21-year-old shot stopper is developing well and is on track to develop into the top player many predict he will ultimately become.
Areola should be capable of taking over from Nicolas Douchez as Salvatore Sirigu’s understudy next season. However, the worrying thing for PSG fans is that the Frenchman is arguably already too good to be a No. 2, even at this early stage of his career.
Despite being just 21, Areola has already made two senior appearances for PSG, which came at the end of the 2012-13 season. He is yet to really break through at Parc des Princes, though, but the second half of 2015 could witness that.
Areola might have had the option to play for the Philippines, but is already well on his way to becoming a full French international instead. Having been born in Paris, PSG fans are licking their lips at the prospect of boasting a genuinely world-class homegrown goalkeeper in the not too distant future.
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