Rennes' Abdoulaye Doucoure Perfect Weapon for Paris Saint-Germain's Future

On Friday night, Paris Saint-Germain continue their charge toward a fourth consecutive Ligue 1 title with a trip to Brittany to take on Rennes at Roazhon Park.

Not to discount Angers or Caen, but Saint-Etienne represented the closest thing the Parisians have had to a title challenge, and they were soundly beaten 4-1 by Laurent Blanc’s men on Sunday night. Rennes will have to find their early-season form to have any chance or competing against the Rouge-et-Bleu juggernaut.

One player who will have a huge say in Rennes’ chances this week is French midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure. Not only is he an all-action midfielder, but there are similarities between him and PSG’s outstanding Blaise Matuidi that could make him a viable long-term replacement for the 28-year-old.

As PSG look to continually evolve and improve, building a midfield with Doucoure and Matuidi flanking the exquisite talent of Marco Verratti could be a masterstroke from the club.

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"He's a real box-to-box midfielder, as the English say,” Rennes manager Philippe Montanier told Ligue1.com back in 2014.

“If you look at the goal he scored at Marseille, when he ran 93 metres at the end of the game, well that shows what he can do. He reads the play well and is often able to get on the end of crosses or shots."

That burst of energy at the end of games is something that Matuidi has built his career around. The possibility of having two midfielders with the ability and desire to keep going when others are failing around them has to be enticing for PSG.

"I'm a deep-lying playmaker,” Doucoure told Ligue1.com. “I try to make the team more solid by helping win the ball, and then when we have the ball, I look to get forward and get into positions from where I can score goals and set them up."

Last season, Doucoure established an almost telepathic understanding with winger Paul-Georges Ntep, and it became a deadly feature of the Rennes attack.

Either the midfielder would release Ntep down the wing, helping him score some spectacular goals, or Doucoure would make his trademark runs into the box, getting on the end of the winger’s cross.

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Over the past two seasons, Doucoure has started 42 games for the Breton side, scoring eight times and picking up nine assists. In 2014, he overcame a horrible knee injury, and his performances saw him linked with a move to Watford in the Premier League this summer, via Le10Sport (in French).

His style would suit the English game. He always gives his all and has the pace and power to make a telling impact. However, in the French capital, you feel that he could raise his ability to the next level and contribute to PSG’s dominance.

This season, he has shown his versatility as Montanier changed up his system. Playing in a 3-4-3, Doucoure has moved from the centre of midfield to the right of the attack and has been given license to push forward and get into the box.

Rennes have struggled slightly over the last two months, winless since the 2-0 win over Nantes in Week 5, with five of their last six games ending 1-1.

Doucoure has just one goal and an assist so far this season, as he missed three games at the start due to injury. There is a feeling that with Ntep out with a long-term injury, the man who has been called Rennes’ Matuidi, via 20 minutes (in French), needs to find his best form to help his team out of this poor run.

Any performance that sparks a result against PSG on Friday could turn some heads. And perhaps one day in the future, we could see both Doucoure and Matuidi in the same midfield—a frightening prospect for the rest of Ligue 1.