Kylian Mbappe Is Moving, but Who Is Next in Line to Dazzle Ligue 1 and Europe?

At the beginning of the summer, an edition of L'Equipe begged Kylian Mbappe for just "one more year" in Ligue 1 before he went off to fulfil his destiny at one of Europe's giants, with Real Madrid widely assumed to be the destination.

The newspaper's fears of him leaving AS Monaco are set to be realised—although the Guardian reported at least seems set to stay in France by joining Paris Saint-Germain, so fans across the nation can continue to enjoy. So who will follow in his footsteps?

Just to clarify, we use the phrase "next Kylian Mbappe" in the loosest possible terms. Even before playing a full season as a starter in Ligue 1, it is already clear that the 18-year-old is a unique talent, unfazed by the biggest occasion and with the ability and composure to affect games at elite level, as he did against Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund in last season's Champions League.

What the following quartet of players are, however, are mouthwatering young talents who could bring at least some of the same verve and excitement to Ligue 1 as Mbappe has over the last six months—before going on, perhaps, to bigger and better things.

Adama Diakhaby (Monaco)

Having signed for Monaco at the start of August, 21-year-old Diakhaby is one of our candidates most likely to be required to perform a passable impression of Mbappe over the coming months.

When the speculation surrounding Mbappe reached fever pitch and coach Leonardo Jardim took the decision to drop him for the principality club's second game of the Ligue 1 season at Dijon, it was Diakhaby who stepped in.

For anybody who wasn't aware before, it was now clear that Diakhaby was a quite different proposition to Mbappe—or indeed to Ousmane Dembele, to whom the forward had been compared to on account of their similarly wiry frames and graduation from the widely admired Stade Rennais academy.

A more centrally focussed striker than either of the aforementioned prodigies, Diakhaby has been a slower developer, too, even if he was a useful contributor from the bench for Rennes last season. He is good in the air but is no straight-up target man, and he has the touch and finesse to kill a pass instantly and to take his defender on.

Thrown in at the deep end since his arrival at Stade Louis II, Diakhaby has shown real promise and willingness to knuckle down. He scored his first goal for the club in Sunday night's 6-1 spanking of Marseille—a poacher's finish from a Rony Lopes delivery—and he laid on a goal for Radamel Falcao for the second time this season.

If he learns as much from the Colombian as Mbappe did, expect a vastly improved player to be on Monaco's hands by the end of this term.

Allan Saint-Maximin (Nice)

In different circumstances, Saint-Maximin could have been stepping into Mbappe's shoes right about now. In fact, he did just that in Monaco's opening match of the season, coming on as a substitute for the France forward with 15 minutes to go in the 3-2 victory over Toulouse—the moment that could turn out to be Mbappe's last on-field act for the club.

Yet Saint-Maximin was out of the door before Mbappe, making the short move to Nice less than a week later.

Les Aiglons have bet the farm on his talent, paying a club-record €10 million to bring him in, and that fee was also a reflection on the lengthy internal discussions that were had at Monaco before it was decided he wouldn't have sufficient opportunities to justify keeping him.

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Even at 20, it feels like Saint-Maximin is due to fly. He's been around for a while and made his Ligue 1 debut for Saint-Etienne at 16 in 2013 after coming through their academy. He has always been more of a wide player than an out-and-out forward, but his pace and dribbling skills were apparent from the off and prompted Monaco to buy him in 2015, when he was immediately loaned to Hannover 96.

Saint-Maximin has done much of his growing up in public since, with the Bundesliga club terminating his loan spell after he crashed his car into a tram in the city, per Sport1 (via 20minutes.fr, in French), and was accused of using a fake driving licence. In a subsequent loan spell at Bastia last term, he appeared to have matured significantly and was one of the few bright spots for the Corsicans while scoring some spectacular goals.

Lucien Favre will give Saint-Maximin plenty of responsibility at Nice, where he is expected to forge a new attacking force with Mario Balotelli and Wesley Sneijder. The signs are that he's ready to light up Ligue 1.

Malcom (Bordeaux)

Way out west in Aquitaine, another 20-year-old is already doing just that. Malcom has had a blistering start to the season, with his brace in the thrilling 3-3 draw at Lyon, capped by a stunning 25-yarder that rescued Les Girondins a point in stoppage-time, a notable highlight.

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That is, really, just the tip of the iceberg. The Brazilian has wasted no time since arriving from Corinthians in early 2016 and was already a solid contributor for Jocelyn Gourvennec's side last season, scoring seven times in 33 starts. Like Saint-Maximin, Malcom is a wide player rather than a striker, with the pace and personality to make his influence felt in central areas, too.

He was considered by Borussia Dortmund as a candidate to replace Dembele (and, reputedly, by Monaco as a successor to Mbappe), but Bordeaux president Stephane Martin shut that down pretty quickly.

"He's not for sale," Martin told Sud-Ouest in an interview earlier this month (in French), a position he has since reiterated. "Him doing one more year is in the interests of both player and club. If there are offers for Malcom, we'll just refuse to look at them."

At this point next year, Martin and his club may have no choice. Malcom's explosiveness and that incredible left foot are no longer a well-kept secret.

Myziane Maolida (Lyon)

Lyon, the owner of one of Europe's most productive academies, are already finding it tough to keep a lid on their next big thing, even if he is yet to make a first-team start.

Last season's Europa League semi-finalists have extensively remodelled their squad this summer, but a clutch of young talents, headlined by the 18-year-old Maolida, gatecrashed the pre-season party in style.

His goal in the friendly with Celtic was his most eye-catching contribution. Beginning with a one-two with Nabil Fekir, he burst into the channel, cut inside and outside and then applied an expert finish from a tight angle. Little wonder, perhaps, that the French club rejected an €8 million bid from Barcelona (as reported by French programme Telefoot) without a second thought.

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That was a just a suggestion of what Maolida can do as he starts to be given a taste of first-team action for the first time. His best work comes in wide areas, though his prodigious work rate suggests that he, like Saint-Maximin and Malcom, will have the lungs and the confidence to make his presence felt in the centre of the pitch.

Maolida has versatility on his side, too, as Bleacher Report's own Sam Tighe recently pointed out in this comprehensive scouting report. His coach, Bruno Genesio, believes in him, already using him in a pair of substitute appearances in the early weeks of the season. If he can make his mark amid the stiff competition for forward places at Lyon, he'll have earned it.