Welcome to All Football Scouting Report, in here we will take you a closer look at world's promising stars. Tanguy Ndombele, the Lyon midfielder has impressed across France's top-flight, as well as Europe, over the past twelve months. Man City, Barcelona, Man United, Real Madrid... which could be his next station?
Manchester City, particularly Pep Guardiola, was quoted as being a huge admirer of the 21-year-old - with his attempts even more pressing having missed out on Jorginho to Chelsea. Now though, it appears he's not alone. Barcelona, United among big clubs are interested in making a big-money move for his signature
Who is Tanguy Ndombele
The 21-year-old, who was playing in the second division until the summer of 2017, was named in the world champions' squad after an injury to Corentin Tolisso of Bayern Munich - the man he replaced at Lyon.
Ndombele helped Amiens win promotion from Ligue 2 in a dramatic 2016-17 season - with two points separating the top five teams.
After two matches in Ligue 1, he joined Lyon on deadline day in 2017 in a loan move with an option to make it permanent for 10m euros (£8.75m), a move they unsurprisingly took up.
So, how has he improved so quickly?
After joined Lyon from Amiens, he was able to continue developing without much fanfare over his performances, as supporters were naturally interested to see how he'd settle into their existing setup - but equally knew that he was essentially there on a prolonged trial basis.
It didn't take long for him to impress, either. He made his Ligue 1 debut in mid-September and never looked back since, making 47 appearances (all competitions) last term. Hindsight is often a wonderful thing but inserting a future fee of €8m looks increasingly naive on Amiens' part, although they could never have predicted his market value to have skyrocketed as quickly as it has.
His move into France's top tier was a seamless transition and Ndombele embraced the challenge alongside better team-mates, who were always going to help him develop. It made sense then, that in addition to club training, he also experienced similar treatment at international level - earning his first under-21 caps in the same month.
Strengths
Often described as a mix among Mousa Dembélé, Yaya Toure & Kante, Ndombele is blessed with the physical attributes to be a nightmare for opposition players.
In addition to this, he has excellent close-control dribbling, attacking intent and is capable of driving forward with possession as he attempts to create chances in the final third when possible.
With excellent balance and close control, he stands out for his dribbling skills and clever first touch to evade his marker. Among Ndombele's many strengths is his ability to spot teammates' runs, finding them with measured passes around the box.
To reach the highest level and be regarded a world-class player, he must be more consistent. That, again, is evident this season, having impressed against Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain in recent weeks - Lyon's two biggest games of the campaign to date.
(Like Fernandinho, Ndombele offers a physicality, aggression and athleticism Guardiola considers vital, as well as good positional sense, distribution of the ball and overall game intelligence)
He is capable defensively as he is in attack, intelligent enough to know when risks are worth taking and you can draw parallels to N'Golo Kanté's rise.
Both players began their professional careers in Ligue 2 but developed, the Chelsea has definitely benefited from playing alongside better teammates and against tougher opposition - something Ndombele is experiencing himself now.
Weaknesses
Admittedly, he's not the most graceful, mainly because he plays at such a quick tempo. Sometimes, this does backfire. His decision-making in goalscoring areas of the pitch has been erratic at times, though it's an area of his game that he has been gradually improving - four assists in nine Ligue 1 fixtures this term justifies that.
Where would he fit in?
Considering the way he has handled the step up at Lyon, Ndombele could be challenging for a first-team place in the Premier League next season should speculation linking him with a move to Arsenal come to fruition.
Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City are among the long list of clubs reported to have watched the midfielder in Ligue 1, with Barcelona & AC Milan also keen admirers of his talent.
Why are European sides circling for his signature? What does he offer?
As a genuine box-to-box midfielder at a time when there's often indecision on whether to describe players as one, he'd prove an invaluable figure for whoever is lucky enough to secure his services. It seems only a matter of time before he does depart Lyon, provided it's the right transfer fee from their perspective, after the Nabil Fekir fallout over the summer.
Questions will be asked over his suitability to England's top-flight, but he's more forward-thinking than Tiemoue Bakayoko - who joined the league for hefty transfer fee over the past summer window. It's easy to see how he'd settle in at Barcelona, as their playing style compliments his, but there's no reason why Ndombele cannot remain patient before choosing his next move wisely - becoming the next world-class player to break out from France.