The French champions aren't known for their youth recruitment policy, but the arrival of the Benfica teenager could signal a change in strategy
It is set to be a summer of profound change at Paris Saint-Germain. Lionel Messi has left and he could feasibly be followed out the door by both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, bringing the underwhelming era of the 'best front three of all time' to an end.
The potential loss of their three marquee megastars has prompted a lot of soul searching in the French capital. Despite all the money spent on tempting the Big Three to Paris, PSG have still not tasted Champions League glory.
It may be time for a new recruitment approach, and front and centre of their new policy is Cher Ndour – who is expected to sign on a free transfer from Benfica. PSG do not tend to sign players this young, but Ndour has been turning heads for some time.
Although he may not have broken through into mainstream footballing consciousness quite yet, those who have been watching him closely have been very impressed in recent years, and it's no surprise that Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus were among the other clubs interested. Below, GOAL details why Ndour is worth getting excited about…
Getty ImagesWhere it all began
Ndour was born in Brescia, 23 days after Greece had shocked Portugal in the Euro 2004 final, and his footballing education began at the youth ranks of local side ASD San Giacomo Chieri. "When I was five I played in an underage team in the San Giacomo orator," Ndour told . "Then I moved to the 2004 class. We won all the games, at home I have a slew of trophies as best player."
Ndour wasn't there for long, though, as Brescia snapped him up when he was still a youngster. He then progressed through the age groups before being poached by Atalanta, aged 11. It proved to be an inspired move, with Ndour being afforded a front row seat to La Dea's remarkable rise under Gian Piero Gasperini.
Despite Atalanta establishing themselves as European regulars during Ndour's time in Bergamo, the club could not successfully fend of interest from elsewhere in the continent. In 2020, Ndour was on the move again, signing for Benfica. Atalanta were extremely disappointed to have him slip through their fingers.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesThe big break
Unsurprisingly, a 15-year-old moving from one youth academy side to another did not attract much interest at the time. However, it became a whole lot more difficult to ignore the hype around Ndour when he took a record off Joao Felix.
On May 2, 2021, the midfielder made his Benfica B debut, coming on in the closing stages of his side's 2-0 victory over Oliveirense. The player he replaced? A forward called Goncalo Ramos, who a year-and-a-half later would net a hat-trick in the World Cup knockout stages.
In making that one-minute cameo, Ndour became the youngest ever player to feature for Benfica's second string, beating Felix's previous record by 33 days. The following season, he earned a starting position, missing just eight games for Benfica B during the entire campaign while also helping the U19s to win the UEFA Youth League.
How it's going
Things have snowballed for Ndour since there. An Italy Under-20 call-up came in September 2022, in which he helped the Azzurri to a 2-1 victory over Portugal, and it's been a similar story at club level.
In December 2022, he was named on the bench for the Eagles' senior side for the first time, and the following week he even got on the pitch. Alright, it may have been for a matter of seconds at the end of Benfica's dominant 5-1 victory over Vitoria Guimaraes, but it was still a huge moment for the player.
Things got even better when Ndour was included in the travelling squad for several of his team's Champions League games. Although he was not called upon by Roger Schmidt during this trio of matches, it was a great learning experience for the youngster, who will likely be seen on this grandest of stages sooner rather than later.
Biggest strengths
Ndour is best described as a modern, box-to-box midfielder. He likes to get after the play, both in and out of possession, with his devastating mix of physical and technical attributes making him stand out at youth level.
He's extremely hard to dispossess too. Not only is Ndour physically imposing for his age, standing at around 6'3 (190cm) tall and possessing a well-built frame, he also makes the ball stick to him like glue in close quarters. A quick glance at his highlight reel shows a huge box of tricks, drag-backs and feints that bamboozle his opponents.
Those same best-of clips also include a decent amount of goals. Ndour scored four times for Benfica B last season, with his ability to fire home strikes from the edge of the box catching the eye.
Defensively, there's a lot to like too. His height means he's strong in the air – which also makes his late runs into the box dangerous – while his octopus-like legs ensure he's a pretty fearsome tackler. Combine those gifts with a tireless work rate and it's easy to see why Ndour has been tipped to develop into one of the best, shuttling No.8s in Europe over the next few years.