Huge Summer Proves the Future Is Bright for PSG's Jean-Kevin Augustin

While the majority of the Paris Saint-Germain squad travel to America to continue their pre-season preparations under Unai Emery, one young Frenchman will continue his training away from his team-mates—but for a good reason.

On Thursday afternoon, France’s under-19s beat Portugal 3-1 in Mannheim—a sliver of revenge for the Euro 2016 final defeat—to reach the final of the youth tournament in Germany.

AS Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe took all the headlines, scoring twice and assisting in the equaliser for Ludovic Blas, but PSG’s Jean-Kevin Augustin is enjoying an excellent tournament, and it looks like the club’s staff have taken notice.

"

Nos Bleuets sont en finale de l'#EuroU19 !!
 France-Italie
 Dimanche
 20h30
 @lequipe21 et @Eurosporthttps://t.co/Wk9Ohh5bdV

— Equipe de France (@equipedefrance) July 22, 2016"

He won’t join the Ligue 1 champions for the International Champions Cup tour, with France taking on Italy, in Sunday’s final. However, last season the club had tried to find the striker a loan move to continue his development, but reports this summer seem to suggest any similar moves this year will be rebuffed.

The teenager goes into the final game of the tournament joint scorer with Mbappe on five goals, and according to UEFA.com, 50 percent of his shots so far have found the back of the net. Averaging a goal a game is something he can only dream of replicating for les Rouges et Bleu.

Last term was a frustrating time for the forward. During the pre-season fixtures, he scored five goals in five games, and it looked like Laurent Blanc would put some trust in his young forward. Speaking to the press, via L’Equipe (in French), he described Augustin as a real striker, comfortable in all positions, and claiming that if he were playing for a smaller team, clubs would be desperately trying to sign him.

Actions speak louder than words, and Augustin had to spend most of his season on the bench. He would only make 13 appearances in Ligue 1, playing from the start just four times while two of his sub roles added up to just three minutes on the pitch.

He would score once, coming off the bench in the 4-1 win over Troyes at the Parc des Princes, but trying to come on for 10 or 14 minutes made it a difficult task.

Augustin is still very young, but he looks like a veteran striker as soon as you see him play for the first time. He looks physically impressive, more than your average teenage forward, plus he adds excellent pace to his large frame. "My play is based on explosiveness," the attacker told Goal.com. "Between training sessions I work in the weights room."

"I’ve made progress in front of the goal," the player continued. "But I still have a lot of progress to make to get to that level. Training with big stars every day, you can only succeed. My team-mates tell me I must think of hitting the target before I start to think about shooting hard."

That advice seems to have rung true in his ears, and you can see an improvement through his performances in Germany for Les Bleuets, his best performance coming against the Netherlands in the final group game.

France had to win to confirm a place in the semi-finals and Augustin made sure of the victory, his three goals and a match ball another chapter in his impressive young career.

The third was definitely the pick of the bunch, bursting inside the box to then fire his shot into the far corner.

His international coach, Ludovic Batelli, has been impressed with Augustin’s performances, via Goal.com (in French), telling the press that the forward was lucky to be able to flourish and play alongside great players, saying this has turned Augustin into a leader in attack and a player who is only obsessed with one thing: goals.

The new season is going to be very interesting for Augustin. At the moment, he is technically the second centre-forward in the PSG squad. Edinson Cavani looks to be starting the campaign as the club’s first choice, and the 19-year-old is the only other recognised striker in the squad since Zlatan Ibrahimovic moved on.

It is unlikely to stay that way. There is little chance that Emery will go through the season with just those two, especially with the club competing in four events. PSG need another striker before the season gets into full swing, but until they do, Augustin will have more chances to impress.

An article by French website 20 Minutes (in French) showed the records of other French strikers at the same stage of their career. Anthony Martial failed to score at that level, Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette, a target for the Parisian club, scored four times in 10 games, and Antoine Griezmann managed three goals in seven caps.

Augustin’s record now stands at 11 goals in 11 games, an incredible return for the 19-year-old. Usually, at this stage, players have the ability and the eye for goal but need the physical work to compete and cope with the rigours of professional football.

Compared to someone like Lacazette, for example, Augustin is physically more advanced than the 25-year-old was six years ago, playing on the right side of the attack for Lyon. It took him another three years before he found his feet in Ligue 1, and the hope is that JK gets that opportunity in Paris.

If PSG do make moves to sign a striker, clubs are on alert to Augustin’s situation, but PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi reportedly told Le Parisien that he had no plans to let the young forward leave the capital, not even on a loan deal.

The most important thing at this stage of his career is to play the most minutes possible, but it has to be in the correct environment. Training with the top-class professionals in Paris will have no doubt helped evolve his game, but time on the pitch is just as important.

Playing third in the pecking order this season could be perfect for him. However, Emery would need to play him more than Blanc did: 30 minutes off the bench does more than 14 minutes.

Augustin will have his own targets, especially after a stunning summer, which could end with him being a European champion and top scorer in the competition if France can beat Italy on Sunday.

Lacazette turned 20 years old at the start of 2011/12 campaign. That season he made 29 appearances and scored five goals. Augustin may not match his 1400 minutes on the pitch, but he should be aiming to beat his goals tally.