The League of Talents.

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OneFootball presents the five gems to keep a close eye on for this new Ligue 1 season!

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Kendry Páez (18 years old – RC Strasbourg)

Loaned by Chelsea to Strasbourg, the young Ecuadorian is announced as the future crack of South American football.

Already the second youngest scorer in the history of the Copa America, the left-hander hopes to continue his progress in Alsace.

With his smooth dribbles and beautiful ball striking quality, Kendry Paez should set L1 ablaze.

📸 Logan Riely – 2024 Getty Images

Khalis Merah (18 years old – OL)

While Lyon is facing a period of austerity for the upcoming season, the seven-time French champion will have to make do with the young players from the training center. Luckily, a talent is about to emerge!

Full of talent and author of a good quality preparation, Khalis Merah, a young midfielder, seems to have made a place for himself in the Lyon group. Paulo Fonseca has even described him as “a player of the future”. Interesting…

Darryl Bakola (17 years old – OM)

After playing a handful of minutes with the pros last season, Darryl Bakola could take advantage of OM’s busy schedule to enter the rotation in the championship a bit more.

Launched several times during the pre-season by Roberto De Zerbi, the young Olympian has shown good things with the ball at his feet, but also in his ability to project himself. In Roberto De Zerbi’s demanding football, will Bakola be able to make a place for himself?

Brian Madjo (16 years old – Metz)

Born in 2009, Brian Madjo could, this season, be the youngest starting number 9 in Ligue 1!

A Luxembourg international, Madjo signed his first professional contract with FC Metz at the beginning of the summer. A first step that should quickly be followed by another: that of his first minutes in L1.

While Idrissa Gueye, the Senegalese striker of FC Metz, is announced to be leaving for the Premier League, the Luxembourgish prodigy could find himself as the number 1 striker of the promoted team or number 2 if the board decides to recruit a center-forward.

One thing is certain: L1 will discover Madjo this season!

Ibrahim Mbaye (17 years old – PSG)

Being a winger at PSG means having to deal with the competition from Désiré Doué, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Bradley Barcola. Getting playing time is no easy task, but Ibrahim Mbaye can count on a coach who likes to play young players.

Percussive and able to destabilize the block with his dribbling, the young Titi could well take advantage of a start to the season where some key players will need to rest after an exhausting 2024-25 season.

📸 ALEX MARTIN – AFP or licensors

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇫🇷 here.

📸 Franklin Jacome – 2024 Getty Images

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