After joining the PSG Training Center during the summer of 2023, the promising 2008 generation is coming to the end of their aspirant contract on June 30. A few months before this deadline, negotiations are in full swing, and, except for Ibrahim Mbaye, no player has yet accepted the professional contract proposal from their formative club. Here is an overview of the current situation.

Arriving at the Training Center during the summer of 2023, the 2008 generation quickly made a name for itself by placing no less than six players in the mid-season ideal team for their debut in the National U17 category. Three years later, except for the comet Ibrahim Mbaye, the recent winner of the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal and a professional at PSG since January 2025, the members of this promising generation are coming to the end of their contracts on June 30. On the sidelines of the Youth League match against Helsinki, the two major sports dailies L'Equipe and Le Parisien provided an update on the current situation and ongoing negotiations.

The Parisian club has offered first professional contracts to seven players from the 2008 generation.

In the goalkeeper position, Arthur Vignaud and Martin James, who have appeared ten times on the first team bench, have a contractual offer from PSG. Despite their often solid performances, this choice may seem surprising, as their future at the Campus seems to be dotted lines in the long term due to the recruitment of Renato Marin, born in 2006, who is held in high esteem by Luis Campos.

In defense, among the lucky ones are three central defenders: Emmanuel Mbemba Nlandu, Hermann Diandaga, and Samba Coulibaly. The first two mentioned are French internationals and key players of the team since their arrival at the Center, even if the current period is more complicated for Hermann Diandaga due to a long hamstring injury. Sought after abroad, particularly in the Bundesliga (Stuttgart), the latter would give his preference to his formative club, while Emmanuel Mbemba Nlandu, targeted by Bayern and more recently Paris FC, would be close to leaving at the end of the season.

Samba Coulibaly's journey is quite different: arriving quietly at the Center (only two starts in his first year in National U17), the native of Stains has never stopped progressing over the last eighteen months, and he sees his efforts rewarded even if the step towards the professional group seems very high.

In the attack, two players with very different profiles and trajectories also have a proposal in their hands. The first is none other than Mathis Jangeal (photo), the top U17 scorer in his first year (17 goals in 22 starts), in the spotlight since his arrival at the Training Center, and who appeared with the professional group this season despite regularly frustrating performances, given his intrinsic qualities. Like this generation, the former PSG Academy Martinique resident does not lack talent, but the lack of continuity and consistency in his performances raises questions about his ability to really exist at PSG in the long term.

Like Samba Coulibaly, the second chosen one, Pierre Mounguengue, belongs to the category of the deserving. The young attacker, top U19 scorer, sees his progress in all areas of the game rewarded despite recurring issues with finishing.

If Edem Ghalleb and Lucas Batbedat, both arriving during training, have already signed their two-year trainee contract, the suspense remains intact for two other teammates, particularly in view of 2026: Adam Ayari and Aymen Assab. Author of a sluggish start to the season with a real lack of continuity in his performances, the first-mentioned is walking on water in 2026 and is decisive in every match. Considered a potential starter from his first year, the Franco-Tunisian has nonetheless bounced back well after a complicated 2024-2025 season.

With only one appearance in his first year in National U17, Aymen Assab's trajectory is quite different, and the talented midfielder has built himself over the last three years. In terms of playing under pressure and passing quality, the native of Clichy has no equal in the squad, and it remains to be seen whether he can reproduce his current performances in less favorable match contexts. Regarding these two players, the newspaper Le Parisien seems to suggest that the club might change its stance and offer a different type of contract.

Summoned to the pro squad by Luis Enrique at the start of the season before being seriously injured in the knee during the U17 World Cup, Wassim Slama should sign a trainee contract, like his predecessors, unfortunately, long-term injured during their final year of an aspirant contract.

Reading the information from L'Equipe and Le Parisien, one can therefore guess the identity of the players who should not benefit from an offer from their formative club, again, with very different cases. Arrived this summer from the Toulouse region, right back Charles Bouygue has shown his limits and, like Kais Anelka, Adame Laidouni, or even Nahil Kante, who never managed to confirm the hopes placed in him before his arrival at the Center, these three elements should try to bounce back elsewhere this summer.

A versatile player, used as a right winger in U17, then right back, and even central defender this season, Toumani Diagouraga would also be on his way out. The last two players concerned should provoke more reflection internally. Brilliant on the technical level, Elijah Ly and Younes Idder have experienced good periods. French U16 and U17 international, the first mentioned was the author of very promising beginnings in U17, but he was unfortunately not spared by injuries, while his teammate Younes Idder had a full season last year, finishing top scorer in U17 (17 goals). It would not be surprising to see the club review its position depending on the outcome observed in the other cases.

If Aymen Assab's teammates are full of technical talent, the 2008 generation will undoubtedly not be strongly represented in the first team in the coming years. Like the current problems of Ibrahim Mbaye, the spearhead of the generation, this observation highlights the gap between the PSG youth teams and the first team in terms of performance levels.

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