Ligue 1 Conforama has a reputation as a production line for young talent and season 2018-19 has already shown that this trend is not stopping any time soon. Check out the new young guns on the scene!
Willem Geubbels (AS Monaco) continued to set the bar for precocity in Ligue 1 Conforama this season, taking the field against LOSC just two days after celebrating his 17th birthday. The former Olympique Lyonnais youth academy product is yet to start a top-flight match but, he has already racked up three appearances and 41 minutes of game time and remains the only player born in the 21st century to have played a Ligue 1 Conforama match.
However, there is a gaggle of players only slightly older than Geubbels who are also knocking on the door. Angers SCO's Rayan Aït Nouri is next on the list, having made his Ligue 1 Conforama debut - at the hallowed Parc des Princes no less - in Week 3, playing nine minutes. He is followed by another Monegasque, midfielder Han-Noah Massengo - also the youngest player to have taken part in a UEFA Champions League match - who at 17 has racked up 61 minutes in the top flight, against Paris Saint-Germain, Amiens SC and Olympique Lyonnais.
The ten youngest players to debut in Ligue 1 Conforama this season:
1. Rayan Aït Nouri (Angers SCO) – 17 years, two months and 19 days
2. Han-Noah Massengo (AS Monaco) – 17 years, four months and 4 days
3. Abdoulaye Dabo (FC Nantes) – 17 years, five months and seven days
4. William Saliba (ASSE) – 17 years, six months and one days
5. Lamine Diaby Fadiga (OGC Nice) – 17 years, six months and 23 days
6. Benoît Badiashile (AS Monaco) – 17 years, seven months and 16 days
7. Bafodé Diakhité (Toulouse FC) – 17 years, ten months and 29 days
8. Sofiane Diop (AS Monaco) – 18 years, two months and two days
9. Lenny Pintor (OL) – 18 years, two months and 14 days
10. Wilson Isidor (AS Monaco) – 18 years, two months and 15 days
Young marksmen: Pellegri sets the pace
In terms of goal scorers, AS Monaco are once again on top of the heap, with Pietro Pellegri the youngest player to have found the back of the net this season. The Italian is also the fifth-youngest player to have taken a Ligue 1 Conforama field this season - after making his debut in France's top flight aged just 16 years, 10 months and 30 days!
The five youngest Ligue 1 Conforama goal scorers this season:
1. Pietro Pellegri (AS Monaco) – 17 years, five months and nine days
2. Timothy Weah (Paris Saint-Germain) – 18 years, five months and 21 days
3. Jean-Clair Todibo (Toulouse FC) – 18 years and nine months
4. Moussa Diaby (Paris Saint-Germain) – 19 years, two months and 7 days
5. Rafael Leao (LOSC) – 19 years, four months and 17 days
