The brand new African champion, Ibrahim Mbaye, celebrated his 18th birthday this Saturday, the day after the victory at Auxerre. Despite his young age and irregular playing time in Paris, the young winger is attracting interest, notably in England.

This is probably not in the right midfield position that Ibrahim Mbaye imagined playing his first match as African champion, a little less than a week after his continental title with Senegal.

After shining as a winger during the 2025 AFCON, the 18-year-old Franco-Moroccan-Senegalese player had to fill in a role he had never played before, as his club was deprived of many midfielders for this match, as his coach, Luis Enrique, explained after the match.

This tenth start of the season, already, will clearly not be remembered, even though Mbaye did what he could during the hour he played, with a good chance created in the first half. It will, however, remain as the last match played by the young player as a minor.

This Saturday, Mbaye turned 18, a year and a half after entering a professional group he has hardly ever left.

A symbolic change of status for the player, but not for his agent, since French law prohibits any payment for a minor player, unlike what can be done abroad.

This comes at a rather good time since Paris Saint-Germain, which has already exercised an option allowing it to have the young talent under contract until 2028, will have to negotiate a contract extension in the medium term.

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And if Paris cannot come to an agreement with the player who once signed the biggest contract in the history of its academy, Mbaye will have very attractive exit options available.

German clubs, always on the lookout in the French market, have been following him for years, and RB Leipzig is not the least of his admirers, as we learned a year ago. The scout sent by RBL during the Bayern vs. PSG (2-5) Youth League match in the fall of 2024 had left more than convinced by the youngster, who was brilliant that day.

Beyond Germany, England is also very attentive to Mbaye's development, a player who has been touted and awaited since his youngest days.

German transfer market specialist Florian Plettenberg explained that Chelsea and Aston Villa were on the lookout at the end of this winter transfer window regarding the PSG talent, in case an opening arises on the Paris side. This is absolutely not the trend, of course, but Paris is under threat nonetheless.

With two years left on his contract, a good place in the PSG squad, and suitors that are more than solid, the future looks bright for a player who seems poised to take off his professional career after sometimes uncertain beginnings.

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