Jonathan Bamba has been regarded as one of the jewels of the Saint-Etienne youth academy for several years now.
It has only been this season, however, that the 22-year-old has started to look like something approaching the finished product.
But just as the forward has come to maturity, Sainte face losing him for virtually nothing. His deal is up at the end of the season and several clubs, including Crystal Palace, West Ham and Inter, are all monitoring his situation.
Bamba, who spent six years at hometown side Alfortville before moving into Saint-Etienne’s academy in 2011, made his professional bow in January 2015 against Paris Saint-Germain, but his progress since his debut has been something of a slow burn.
Next Match
Loan spells at Paris FC, Saint-Trond and Angers were required before he was considered fully ready to turn out for Saint-Etienne, with whom he has impressed in what has been a complicated season.
Between the club’s poor form in the first half of the campaign to his contract wrangle that has seen him train with the reserves and used more frugally than he might have been since his return, there is a sense that Bamba might have impressed even more this term than circumstances have allowed.
Indeed, such has been his quality that he has been called up into the France Under-21 squad, playing three times and scoring two goals since being given the opportunity to impress by Sylvain Ripoll last June.
The 22-year-old is primarily a wide forward, although he has been used across the whole offensive line over the course of the season campaign.
As Sainte flourished initially under Oscar Garcia, he was their chief catalyst. Four goals were returned in the first seven matches of the campaign before the contract dispute reached its peak.
Garcia grumbled of the board’s call to demote the player: “It’s a decision that has penalised us in a sporting manner. That’s my opinion and also that of the players.”
As he kicked his heels training with the reserves, Sainte’s form suffered, Garcia left in acrimonious circumstances and the club fell into a tailspin that lasted until Gasset stepped up to replace the ineffective Julien Sable, who was only tentatively appointed to replace the former Brighton boss.
Bamba has yet to fully regain his scoring touch, but that is not to say he has become dramatically less effective. Indeed, he has become increasingly influential as a provider of goals, setting up strikes in successive matches against Guingamp, Nantes and Paris Saint-Germain as Saint-Etienne’s challenge for a top-five finish has taken shape.
Indeed, in an offensive capacity, perhaps only Remy Cabella has been more effective for the club over the course of their 11-match undefeated sequence, which is the longest ongoing run in Ligue 1.
Meanwhile, Sainte are now scrambling to find a solution that will allow the youngster to remain on their books next season and those that follow.
“I think he’s very good,” Gasset, who was previously an assistant to Laurent Blanc at Bordeaux, Paris Saint-Germain and France, said last week. “I’ll go out of my way for him to stay here. It’s not decided.
“He still misses a few things. He’s very brave. He’s a worker. If I had to give advice to him, it would be to stay here. He can flourish here.”
At a club that developed and rounded Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from a rough diamond to a deadly striker, they hope that they can have a similar effect on Bamba, who is slowly developing into the gem that the Loire side long hoped he would become.
