Ibrahim Mbaye: PSG's new Kylian Mbappe?! Teenage sensation already making history at the Parc des Princes

Mbaye was born in the Parisian suburb of Trappes - coincidentally, the hometown of former PSG striker Nicolas Anelka - and, as a kid, he was more interested in basketball than football. However, his father got him interested in 'The Beautiful Game' with YouTube videos and Mbaye started playing organised football at the age of five, with Guyancourt, before later joining FC Versailles.

It wasn't long, though, before PSG took notice of Mbaye's obvious potential and they snapped him up when he was still only 10. From there he progressed rapidly through the PSG youth sector and broke into the Under-19s squad at just 16 before going on to help them win last season's Championnat National with a goal in the play-off semi-final victory over Marseille and an assist in the tournament-decider against Auxerre.

Unsurprisingly, Luis Enrique took notice of PSG's child prodigy and included Mbaye in his pre-season squad. The youngster immediately made his mark, scoring the opener in the 2-2 draw with Sturm Graz on August 7.

Mbaye impressed again against RB Leipzig three days later, so much so, in fact, that Luis Enrique picked him to play in PSG's Ligue 1 opener against Le Havre.

"I'm entering into the history of the club," Mbaye told his team's media channel after becoming the youngest player ever to start a competitive game for PSG, at 16 years and 205 days old. "It's incredible. You have to work hard to get to this level. It's certainly a change to what I'm used to. There's a huge intensity, it's really something else."

In total, Mbaye featured in five of PSG's first eight Ligue 1 fixtures, before shining for the U19s in the latter stages of their UEFA Youth League campaign. He was then brought back into the senior squad set-up in March and scored his first goal in the professional ranks during the 6-1 rout of Saint-Etienne at the end of the month.

"I'm very happy," he said after becoming PSG's third-youngest goal-scorer, behind only Warren Zaire-Emery and Bartholomew Ogbeche. "I hope it continues for a long time and that I score more in other matches. It's a reward for all the hard work I've put in so far, and I'm going to keep on working and hope to score even more goals."

Mbaye has also played all 90 minutes of the PSG's last two league games, against Strasbourg and Montpellier, meaning it's highly likely that he'll be on the bench for the Champions League final against Inter on May 31.

Mbaye is a thrillingly direct winger who is always looking to take on players and beat them with his quick feet and blistering turn of pace. He's also extremely versatile; although he prefers playing on the left wing, as it allows him to cut inside onto his favoured right foot, he's actually spent a lot of time playing on the opposite flank.

At Parc des Princes, there's also a feeling that Mbaye might develop into a very mobile centre-forward, in much the same way Dembele has over the past year or so. Luis Enrique has not yet commented on the teenager's best role, but he has been fulsome in his praise of not only Mbaye's game - but also his attitude.

"He plays with very good rhythm with and without the ball, has a lot of qualities and is very intelligent," the former Barcelona boss told reporters. "I love it when he trains with us and he's always ready to help us."

While Mbaye is technically excellent and more than capable of getting past opponents, there's an acknowledgement at PSG that he needs to work on adding more variety to his dribbling, which is effective but at times a little too predictable.

Given he's still only 17, he obviously still has to improve in several other areas, including his finishing and his final ball, but he's impressed all of his coaches so far with his work ethic, maturity and willingness to learn.

Given his pace, power, versatility and the fact that he's a local lad playing for PSG, Mbaye has been rather inevitably touted as the 'new Kylian Mbappe'. It's an incredibly heavy burden for one so young to bear, but there are obvious similarities between the two, with Mbaye certainly just as fearless as the France captain when it comes to running at defenders.

Furthermore, while he might not be quite as fast as Mbappe, he is an explosive runner capable of doing an awful lot of damage on the left wing if given even half a yard of space.

In February of this year, Mbaye signed his first professional contact with PSG - despite external interest in his services among some of Europe's elite.

"This is a very big step for me," he told his club's official website at the time. "I'd like to thank everyone - the chairman, the coaches, the staff, the team and my family, who have always been there for me. For now, though, this is just the beginning, and I hope to go far!"

He certainly has every chance of realising his objective. Parc des Princes is by no means the easiest place for a young forward to get game time and yet Mbaye has already made 10 appearances for PSG's first team before the age of 18 - which tells you everything you need to know about his ability and how much faith the French champions have in their academy product.

In that context, it really shouldn't be long before he joins Kvaratskhelia & Co. in tormenting teams on a regular basis in the Champions League. Who knows, we may even make a cameo at the Allianz Arena on May 31...