Very few footballers have been compared to World Cup winners aged just 19-years-old. But, that's the case for Sunderland's summer arrival Abdoullah Ba.
The 18-year-old France youth international came through the prestigious Le Harve academy, just across the English channel. Paul Pogba, Lassana Diarra, Dmitri Payet and Riyad Mahrez are among the high profile graduates to have kicked on and had illustrious careers in the game.
The Black Cats will be hoping Ba goes on to have a similar career trajectory. The young midfielder has featured just four times in the red and white since making the move to Wearside prior to Deadline Day - 30 minutes of action against Preston North-End the most to date.
READ MORE: Sunderland's young investments a hopeful sign of things to come
The French youth international has been eased into action, but played the full 90 minutes for Graeme Murty's Under-21s side that was narrowly beaten by Premier League 2 Divison 2 league leaders, Leeds United. Ba was one of the standout performers for Sunderland in the first-half, linking up well with fellow Frenchman Edouard Michut for some nice passages of play.
The Le Harve graduate had a good opportunity to level the scores with a second-half drive that went narrowly wide of the Kristoffer Klaesson's right-hand post, before going down with cramp. Ba managed to get back to his feet after some treatment from the physios and would see out the remainder of the game.
We're yet to see him start for the First-Team and there's no indication what the plans for Sunderland's youngsters who have featured for the U21s in recent weeks. Nonetheless, there were promising signs from Ba, strong enough to suggest it may be a matter of time before he features more prominently.
Of course, there'll be a debate regarding the level of Premier League 2 Division 2 and the Championship, but you can't ignore that the Black Cats came up against one of the best academy sides in the country in Leeds United. Ba showed a great ability to take the ball under pressure, a box-to-box midfielder who played some smart one touch football with his team-mates, but did appear to tire as the second-half wore on - understandable for someone who has played so little football since his move to Wearside.
The young Frenchman was highly rated at Le Harve, making 26 appearances in Ligue 2 last season with one assist and goal as Le club doyen finished eighth in the second tier of French football. He was awarded his first professional contract at 16-years-old - one of the youngest in Le Harve's history - in an attempt to keep Borussia Mönchengladbach at bay.
Former Le Harve manager Paul Le Guen made comparisons with two of the best products to come out of Stade Oceane. He said: "Paul Pogba and Lass Diarra are the pride of Le Havre's academy and every midfielder who comes out of here compares it to being compared to them.
"In my opinion, Abdullah has similarities with Paul and Lass, he (180cm tall) is more like Lass Diarra, and I also think he has similarities with Kante. Of course, he still has a long way to go to reach the heights of these three, but I believe he has the potential and strength to become a star on the pitch."
It may still be early days, with the Frenchman yet to taste victory in a Sunderland shirt, but there were enough encouraging signs against Leeds to suggest the Wearsiders may have unearthed another hidden gem from their scouting exploits.
READ NEXT:
- Jack Clarke makes Swansea 'head start' admission as he sets Sunderland target
- Sunderland reaction too little, too late, as they lost at in-form Swansea City
- Tony Mowbray on Sunderland's positional switch that made a big difference at Swansea City
- Tony Mowbray praises Sunderland's 'reaction to adversity' after poor first half at Swansea
- Swansea boss Russell Martin delivers positive verdict on Sunderland and Alex Pritchard
