PFDB report: a central defender who is as cool as a cucumber

He is a PSG player who wears the number 33, but as he not a professional, he does not have the name on the back of his shirt. Injuries meant he made the starting XI and now he will probably leaving for nothing at the end of his contract. Nianzou Tanguy Kouassi (Paris, 2002) has needed little time to go from being an unknown to a sought after player. He is calm, versatile and can also play as a midfielder. He has shown all of that in just 12 PSG games. He has scored three goals and got one assist.

There is almost unanimity in France that the 17 year-old central defender leads the way as one of the most promising defenders in the country. But do not look at him as a Desailly or Thuram type player. He is more like Blanc. A defender who is slim, but elegant. He is good physically, but he is also a clever defender.

Seeing him in action reminds us of matches when Guardiola played Yaya Toure in central defence. And the thing is when he wins the ball, he is obsessed with clearing the ball away. He also wins 6.13 duels per 90 minutes, according to ProFootballDB.

Sometimes he seems slightly clumsy because of his long legs (he is right footed) and he takes more risks than necessary. 

The best thing is that he is still young and he dominates aspects of the game that some players in their 30s are not good at like his placement, how he looks for space and how he defends against quicker or more skilful players.