ONES TO WATCH: Zaire-Emery and PSG's talented youngsters | OneFootball

Warren Zaire-Emery became the youngest player to feature for Paris Saint-Germain early in the 2022/23 season, and the highly promising midfielder is just one of a clutch of bright new talents coach Christophe Galtier is blooding in Ligue 1 Uber Eats.

Ismaël Gharbi

DOB: 10/04/2004

Position: Attacking midfield

Ligue 1 Debut: 08/05/2022

Born in Paris in 2004, Gharbi hasn’t ventured far to play his football, starting at the Paris FC academy in 2010 and joining PSG in 2016. The technically gifted midfielder has welcomed the pressure of playing with the game’s biggest stars:

“It’s been my dream since I was young to play here for my childhood club”, said the teenager who made his league debut against Troyesin a 2-2 draw in the 2021/22 season. “Training with a squad like this I can only improve, and I think I’ve felt that. I’ve been with the squad a year and a half, and I’ve improved of course.”

On New Year’s Day 2023, Gharbi came on as a substitute, along with Vitinha in the 3-1 defeat against Lens, featuring next to Marco Verratti and behind Mbappé. Following this, coach Christophe Galtier trusted his young prodigy to start in the 3-1 Coupe de France win against Chateauroux in early January.

The 5’8 midfielder also has options when it comes to where he plays his international football too, he’s eligible to play for France, Spain and Tunisia.

El Chadaille Bitshiabu

DOB: 16/05/2005

Position: Centre-back

Ligue 1 Debut: 20/04/2022

This towering centre-back, who joined the PSG academy in 2017, measured 6’2 aged just 12, he now stands at a hulking 6 feet and 6 inches tall. Aged just 16 years and 213 days his debut in the 3-0 Coupe de France win over Feignies Aulnoye saw him break Kingsley Coman’s record for the youngest player to feature for the Parisians in an official match.

Galtier had praise for the big man, hailing his first league start a success when he showed his versatility at left-back in a 2-1 home win against Strasbourg in late December. “For a debut in a context like this evening’s, he had a very good game,” said the PSG boss.

His size and power are not his only strengths however. His ability on the ball has also been recognised, the now 17-year-old has represented France at U17, U18, and U19 level.

Warren Zaïre-Emery

DOB: 08/03/2006 Position: Defensive midfield Ligue 1 debut: 06/08/2022

Bitshiabu’s record did not last long. In August, Warren Zaïre-Emery became the first player born in 2006 to play in a Ligue 1 match, breaking the record for the youngest ever PSG player to feature in an official match aged 16 years and 151 days.

Few 16-year-olds can say they’ve tasted first team football, much less in a side packed with stars like Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé. The teenager was initially called up by Mauricio Pochettino in the 2021/22 season following standout performances in the UEFA Youth League. However, he had to wait until Galtier took the reins to make his league debut: a substitute appearance in a 5-0 win against Clermont in Round 1 of the 2022/23 campaign.

“Hewas very serious and very good during pre-season,” said Galtier of the technical midfielder, who won the U17 EURO alongside Bitshiabu last summer. “I had to give him his first minutes. It’s important to put out words into action.”

Timothée Pembélé

DOB: 09/09/2022

Position: Right-back

Ligue 1 debut: 28/11/2020

In a somewhat atypical debut, Pembélé was widely praised despite scoring an own goal early in the match against Bordeaux. Starting at centre-back, he was well-placed to soak up the wisdom on offer from his teammates: “I spoke to Presko [Kimpembe], Keylor [Navas],Sergio [Rico]and Marquinhosalso gave me a lot of advice before kick-off.”

The versatile defender was then sent out on loan to Bordeaux where he featured 26 times over the course of the 2021/22 season. His promising trajectory was cruelly halted by an anterior cruciate ligament injury, side-lining him for the remainder of his loan deal and his return to PSG for the start of the new season.  The new year has seen a return to fitness for the pacy full-back, with his first official match of 2022/23 the 7-0 win in the Coupe de France against US Pays de Cassel.

Ilyes Housni

DOB: 14/05/2005 Position: Centre-forward

Ligue 1 debut: N/A

It seems only a matter of time before the decisive forward makes his league debut. Nonetheless, January has been an exciting time for PSG’s young stars and Housni is no exception to this. The coach has shown his faith in the young players for this month’s Coupe de France ties, stating “I play them because I believe in them”.

It seems the club are prepared to offer more playing opportunities to young prospects in order to hold on to their home-grown talent. This starlet signed his first professional contract in January 2023, keeping him at the club until June 2026.

Taking the UEFA Youth League by storm with eight goals and two assists in just six games, the quick and clever attacker has already attracted interest from the likes of Barcelona at an age where his school friends can only experience this kind of prominence in video games.

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