Kingsley Coman isn’t the only former youth teamer to leave Paris Saint-Germain red faced this year.
Only three months after the Bayern Munich winger headed the only goal of the game in August’s Champions League final victory against his former employers, Christopher Nkunku repeated the trick as RB Leipzig left PSG’s latest European campaign in tatters.
And while Tanguy Kouassi Nianzou has yet to replicate Coman’s impact at Bayern having joined the treble-winners on a free transfer in July, the hand-wringing that greeted his departure from Paris speaks volumes about the teenage centre-half’s potential.
And Ralf Rangnick, who spent two years trying to coax Kouassi to RB Leipzig, is well placed to pass judgement on a man who became a first-team regular under Thomas Tuchel at the Parc des Princes aged only 17.
“He’s an exceptional talent and will be one of the best central defenders of the next ten years,’ the influential German coach who helped nurture the likes of Timo Werner, Naby Keita and Dayot Upamecano at Red Bull Arena, tells Sport1.
“If he stays fit, he’ll be a regular in (Bayern’s starting XI) in a year.”
Bayern legend and 1990 Ballon D’Or winner Lothar Matthaus agrees.
“From what you hear, Nianzou must be a giant, a really great talent,” Matthaus tells AZ.
With Jerome Boateng and David Alaba both due to become free agents next year, Kouassi could be a regular at the reigning European champions sooner than expected.
And it’s not only PSG who may be forced to watch on with envy.
Le10 Sport reports Newcastle United and Arsenal were interested as were a Leeds side who, under Marcelo Bielsa, have become an ideal destination for young players with vast potential (90Min).
But have the Premier League trio missed out on a potentially generation-defining central defender? Rangnick certainly thinks so.
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