PSG’s Youngsters

Paris Saint-Germain saw the arrival of German tactician Thomas Tuchel in the summer to replace Unai Emery, who then pitched his tent at Arsenal. Tuchel was expected to bring about a change in the way the Paris superclub functioned, both on and off the pitch; making PSG a better team tactically, while also establishing control over a dressing-room that looked like it was in the hands of a few players.

His stint at Borussia Dortmund also showed that he was not afraid of trusting younger players with opportunities, and the World Cup gave him the chance to do so in Paris as well. PSGs first three games of this season have seen Tuchel give appearances to a clutch of young starlets, with the likes of Timothy Weah, Colin Dagba, Antoine Bernede and Stanley NSoki all featuring heavily. This is an interesting approach, as Tuchel has a number of world-class stars at his disposal, yet seems to favour playing some of the home-grown youngsters instead. Whether this is because the German feels that younger players are more receptive towards his tactical ideas, or if there are more practical FFP-based concerns at play here is hard to guess at the moment.

What is clear though, is that Tuchel has most certainly shaken things up in Paris, and one of the ways in which he has achieved this has been by giving PSGs youth a chance, one they have not had in recent years.

We will now take a look at some of these youngsters and their respective styles of play.

Stanley NSoki

Stanley NSoki was the subject of much transfer speculation over the summer, as he was reportedly Rafa Benitezs number one target at left-back. He also allegedly turned down a contract renewal offer from PSG, but events over the start of the season may have convinced him that his future is in Paris after all. The 19-year had only one appearance for the PSG senior side before this season started but played the full 90 minutes in both the Trophée des Champions win over Monaco, as well as the opening league game against Caen. NSoki is the archetypal modern fullback, extremely comfortable when on the attack, and he showed this side of his game with two assists against Monaco. His touchmaps from both the matches mentioned above demonstrate the attacking nature of his game.

NSoki showed his incredible physical qualities for both assists  for the first, he made a run in behind the Monaco defensive line before crossing for Neymar, while for the second, he easily shrugged off the covering Monaco defender before storming into the box and laying the ball off for Timothy Weah to convert. This does not imply that NSoki is vulnerable defensively; across the two games, the youngster made 6 tackles and 6 interceptions. However, he is prone to lapses in concentration, as the image below shows 

Nevertheless, it has been an impressive start to NSokis career. While fellow academy graduate Colin Dagba took over his role for the second league game against Guingamp, it seems as though former first-choice Layvin Kurzawa is not in favour under the new regime, and thus this represents a golden opportunity for NSoki to stake his claim for a regular starting role.