Drifting in from the left, jinking his way through a forest of legs before finishing in style after a one-two, the comparisons between Kamaldeen Sulemana and one of the planet’s finest footballers don’t seem so fanciful these days.
“We are talking about a player with potential on a par with Neymar, and maybe even more than that, because he’s even faster (than the Brazilian),” Flemming Pedersen, Nordsjaelland’s general manager, said in May while confirming interest from two Premier League giants in his 19-year-old ace.
“(Manchester) United, Liverpool and others are in the race.
“And with the personality and mentality he has, I will never say it will be too big a leap, for (Sulemana) is extraordinary.”
But rather than take a giant ‘leap’ of faith, swapping the relatively small pond that is Danish football for the choppy waters of the Premier League, Sulemana wants to prove he can swim, rather than sink, on the European mainland.
Will Kamaldeen Sulemana end up in the arms of Liverpool?
Following in the footsteps of fellow wideman Jeremy Doku, who turned down the chance to become Jurgen Klopp’s ‘new Sadio Mane’ at Anfield, Sulemana put pen to paper with Brittany-based Rennes in July.
He joined a club that gave us Ismaila Sarr, Ousmane Dembele, Eduardo Camavinga, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Raphinha for a cool £13 million.
And as he put Clermont Foot to the sword with two goals in last night’s 6-0 win, the first a sublime team move that wouldn’t look out of place at the Parc des Princes, Sulemana looked like a man at home in his new surroundings.
Rennes have a reputation for being elite developers of young talent, one of European football’s most feted finishing schools.
On last night’s evidence, Sulemana will be graduating with honours before long.
Here’s what some Liverpool supporters on Twitter thought about Sulemana’s performance last night:
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
