Cher Ndour: Why Paris Saint-Germain moved quickly to beat Man Utd to signing of the next Paul Pogba

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 Cronache di Spogliatoio. "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.

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.

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.

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.

To truly become the complete midfielder, Ndour will need to increase his numbers fairly significantly. The Italian only managed one assist for his club during the 2022-23 season, as per Transfermarkt. Considering he played in a fairly advanced position, this can be improved upon.

Due to his tender years, there will also be doubts over whether Ndour possesses the game intelligence to compete at the highest level. At times he is a little headless out of possession, such is his burning desire to win the ball back.

The coach Paris Saint-Germain bring in - likely Luis Enrique - will be important in improving these weaknesses. Ndour is at a stage of his career where he requires guidance as well as match experience to ensure he keeps developing at a consistent rate.

Back in 2020, Corriere dello Sport first compared Ndour to Paul Pogba. This label has been used to describe a whole host of young players in the past, but in this case it does genuinely seem pretty apt.

The pair are almost exactly the same height, play in similar roles and are also supreme technicians. PSG will only be hoping that Ndour does not share similarities with Pogba in the injury department too.

After many failed attempts to sign the former Manchester United man, it now appears the Parisians are getting a younger version of him instead.

Well, in the very short term, a move to PSG. Once that deal is signed, sealed and delivered, Ndour will be laser focussed on getting into the first team, just as he was at Benfica.

There is a possibility that PSG view his development differently. The Ligue 1 champions may feel that a loan move this season makes sense, as Ndour has barely played top-flight football in his fledgling career.

On the international stage, the teenager will have lofty ambitions too. Capped all the way to U20 level for Italy, the next step will be forcing his way into the U21 and perhaps even senior squads. Azzurri coach Roberto Mancini has shown a willingness to give chances to young players if they're good enough, which will give Ndour hope.