Five African starlets who will liven up the transfer window

Yan Diomandé – 19 years old

This is the name that has echoed the most since the start of this summer window. At 19 years old, Yan Diomandé, coming off a modest World Cup with the Elephants of Côte d’Ivoire, has not lost his appeal on the market. At least, not in the eyes of PSG, who continue to work behind the scenes to reach an agreement with RB Leipzig in order to sign the Ivorian winger, with whom they already have a five-year contractual agreement.

Ayyoub Bouaddi – 18 years old

At just 18 years old, Ayyoub Bouaddi already seems too big to remain at LOSC. The new Atlas Lion, who had an impressive World Cup with Morocco—so much so that he benched Sofyan Amrabat—is in the sights of Manchester City, who are ready to pay the price to bring him into their squad immediately. Lille is demanding 100 million euros to let their Moroccan gem leave.

Ibrahim Mbaye – 18 years old

Clubs are lining up for the Senegalese diamond, ready to be polished far from the Parisian sky, where the competition overshadows him more than the clouds. Manchester City, Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea, and now Borussia Dortmund are all interested in Ibrahim Mbaye, who is capable of playing in all attacking positions.

Christ Inao Oulaï – 20 years old

When you see him play, you still wonder how the Ligue 1 clubs could let Trabzonspor come and snatch him from Bastia last year, in the calmest of ways. Christ Inao Oulaï dazzled everyone during the World Cup by forcing Emerse Faé’s hand, repaying his trust with disconcerting maturity on the field and technical quality. Even though his dream is to play for PSG, the 20-year-old midfielder will first head elsewhere, with Fiorentina, Juventus, Leipzig, Brentford, Nottingham Forest, or even Fulham all ready to seize the opportunity to sign him.

Mamadou Sarr – 20 years old

Back at Chelsea last winter, Mamadou Sarr may regret leaving Strasbourg and its incredible momentum to return to his parent club, where he played just three small matches before Liam Rosenior, who had insisted on his comeback, was dismissed. And even though the Briton has now left, Sarr is not sure to be in Xabi Alonso’s plans. In fact, The Athletic mentions a new loan for the Senegalese defender. The question remains if Rosenior, now at Paris FC, will call on him again.