PSG Youngster Odsonne Edouard Ready to Shine at Toulouse

Before the signing of Jese Rodriguez from Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain were constantly linked with signing a top striker. The Spaniard isn’t an out-and-out No. 9, but he can be used in that role.

One reason for not going big on a centre-forward is hopefully the development of Jean-Kevin Augustin, the 19-year-old.

However, he is not the only promising striker on PSG’s books, and this season we could finally get the chance to monitor the progress of 18-year-old wonderkid Odsonne Edouard.

Rather than stay on the PSG bench, playing behind Edinson Cavani, Jese and Augustin, the teenager has joined Ligue 1 side Toulouse on a season-long loan deal.

There is a huge sense of excitement around the young forward, and Toulouse fans, who didn’t enjoy a good year last season, will be happy to see what the youngster can bring to the Stade Municipal.

He burst on to the scene in 2015 when he helped France win the UEFA Under-17 Championship. At the final tournament, he scored eight goals in five matches—including a hat-trick against Germany in the final—adding to the five goals in five games he netted during qualifying.

Edouard added another two in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Chile and impressed for PSG in last season’s UEFA Youth League, scoring three in eight games. His rise up the youth ranks has been as quick as it has been impressive, and now he’ll have a chance to shine in the country’s top division.

There is no doubt that PSG know what they have on their hands, as they signed Edouard to his first professional contract just three months after his 18th birthday.

"I'm very happy with this show of faith from the club where I learned my trade," Edouard told the club's official website, via ESPN:

"

It's a great honour to become a professional at this very ambitious club. I've had a great year with my team and now I've capped it off with my first professional contract.

It means a lot for me, a Parisian, to sign with Paris Saint-Germain. It's a dream come true, but still it's just the beginning.

"

For PSG, it's important to try their very best to develop young local talent. It’s too easy to snap up the brightest and best players from around France and Europe, yet to give the capital club a local feel and help the fans identify with the men on the pitch, having lifelong fans in the squad creates that personal touch.

Before he moved to Liverpool in 2013, Mamadou Sakho, born in Goutte d'Or, a neighbourhood located in Paris' 18th arrondissement, was a huge fan favourite—PSG’s youngest captain. The prospect of having a striker who was brought up in the French capital scoring goals as the club charges to glory is the sort of thing fans dream about.

For both PSG and France, Edouard has shown that he is a very switched-on and intelligent forward. He always looks calm and composed in the final third, something that was evident in his pre-season goal against Leicester in the International Champions Cup.

Put through on goal, he needed just one look to finish in the bottom corner.

The 18-year-old has shown that he is naturally two-footed, which makes him a real danger outside the box. On a couple of occasions for PSG’s under-19s, when Edouard picked up the ball outside the box, he'd shape to shoot on his right, turn on to his left and use the space created to find the back of the net.

Edouard isn’t just a finisher; he has demonstrated that he has a very good touch, plus the acceleration to use it to devastating effect.

One of the best examples of this came against Shakhtar Donetsk in the UEFA Youth League. Played through on goal, goalkeeper Mykyta Romanov rushed out to close down the striker. In a flash, Edouard took the ball on his right foot, skilfully rolled his foot over the top of the ball, shifting it on to his left, beat the Ukrainian was free to finish with ease.

Joining Toulouse gives Edouard a chance to gain valuable minutes in Ligue 1, something he didn’t manage under Laurent Blanc, and it also makes it very easy for the club to monitor his progress.

Toulouse and the champions have had previous dealings. Adrien Rabiot spent half a season on loan in the rose city, giving the young midfielder a chance to stretch his legs. His success for PSG was accelerated due to his performances on loan.

The club also seems to trust Le Tefece's boss, Pascal Dupraz. He was in charge when full-back Youssouf Sabaly spent two seasons on loan at Evian Thonon Gaillard.

On Sunday evening, Edouard made his top-flight debut, coming off the bench in the 73rd minute at the Stade Velodrome against PSG’s bitter rivals, Olympique de Marseille.

It only took two minutes in his TFC debut for Edouard to show a glimpse of his ability. Marseille lost the ball in their own half, and the away side had players up the pitch, so it was a great chance with the game still goalless.

Andrew Gibney via WyScout

Edouard had options: players inside, runners through the middle or the option to go down the wing. What he showed was something he has often done for France and PSG.

Andrew Gibney via WyScout

He used his ability on both feet to come inside through the centre, creating space and confusion. He slipped the pass to Ola Toivonen, but the Swede tried to square the ball for Martin Braithwaite, and the chance was lost.

Minutes later, his quick footwork brought about a yellow card for Remy Cabella. It was a poorly timed tackle, but it was Edouard's speed of thought that effortlessly moved the ball away from the winger, drawing the foul.

Toulouse may have struggled last season, but they are the perfect club to help Edouard gain that much-needed experience. They have the vastly experienced Toivonen up front, as well as Denmark international Braithwaite.

There is no pressure on the youngster to replace Wissam Ben Yedder, TFC’s top scorer last season, who was sold to Sevilla. That falls on the shoulders of the other strikers, and the PSG teenager can just concentrate on developing his game and learning from playing against Ligue 1 defences.

When he signed his professional contract, PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi announced that the club was “very proud” to confirm his signature: "He is on his way to becoming a great striker, and I'm sure his talent will delight our fans and will represent the club's values perfectly.”

Two things have to happen next. Edouard needs to impress and grow; he will get the time and space to do that. Then—and this is the big one—PSG need to learn how to use their own youth talent and find a way to introduce them into the first team.

They failed to do that with Kingsley Coman, while Jean-Christophe Bahebeck has been constantly loaned out. Now they have a chance with Augustin and Edouard to show a change in attitude.

Imagine the feeling around Paris if over the next five years they could have a strike duo of Augustin and Edouard firing the club to Champions League success?

PSG always use the slogan “Dream Bigger,” but it’s time they turned that into a reality.