Simakan was reportedly attracting interest from Liverpool and AC Milan before Leipzig made their move. The defender may only be 20, but after his two senior seasons in Strasbourg's first-team, it is little wonder he is bound for a UEFA Champions League club next season.

Simakan has been ruled out until mid-March with a knee injury, but Strasbourg fans will be excited to have him back for a final farewell - and indeed survival push - before the 2020/21 season concludes in May.

Back story:

Born in Marseille on 3 May 2000, Simakan is the younger half-brother of Ismaël Bangoura, the former Le Mans FC, Stade Rennais FC and FC Nantes striker who hit the height of his fame and goalscoring prowess with Dynamo Kyiv between 2007 and 2009.

They may be separated by 15 years, but the brothers grew up close, with Simakan describing Bangoura as his idol. The younger of the two also aspired to be a forward, but he was re-imagined as a defender whilst in the Olympique de Marseille youth academy, whom he spent five years with between the ages of 10 and 15.

Simakan ultimately never made the cut at OM, but he never let his head go down, and after regaining his confidence at lower league outfits JO St Gabriel and SC Air Bel - the latter whom he helped to a third-place finish in the French U17 Championship behind Toulouse FC and AS Monaco in 2017 - he made the move to Strasbourg.

Simakan spent two seasons with le Racing's age group teams, but was handed his senior debut in a 3-1 win over Maccabi Haifa in the UEFA Europa League in July 2019, and hasn't looked back since.

Style of play:

A 6'2"-tall defender who combines pace, power and anticipation, Simakan is equally comfortable playing in central defence - either in a back three or four - or as a right-back. After his debut against Maccabi, Bangoura likened the youngster to a certain Lilian Thuram, and while he could perhaps be accused of familial bias, it is clear that in terms of physique and defensive attributes, Simakan has stylistic similarities to France's record cap-holder.

Current campaign:

Simakan began the season as part of Thierry Laurey's first-choice central defence alongside Strasbourg club captain Stefan Mitrovic, the two building on the understanding they started to show in helping their side to a 10th-place finish the previous campaign.

This season has perhaps been more evenly balanced between highs and lows, though. Simakan scored his first goal in the Round 14 2-2 draw with FC Metz, but he also gave away two penalties for handball in that match. He impressed directly up against Kylian Mbappé in December, helping keep Paris Saint-Germain down to a 4-0 win in a game in which they had 17 shots on goal, but his season was cut short with injury two rounds later, when Strasbourg beat RC Lens 1-0.

Watch: Highlights of Strasbourg's 2-2 draw with Metz

What they said:

"It all happened at the worst time because I felt that the coach had confidence in me, and I wanted to give back to him. I had times where I thought my luck had passed but my family helped me. We had each other. After the match at Haifa, he called me Lilian Thuram because I'd played on the right!"

- Simakan on how Bangoura helped him through his early career trials and tribulations.

"He had fared averagely in some tests, but we blindly trusted his coaches. We then quickly understood we were dealing with a phenomenon. He was wiping the floor with people. I put him in the third tier, and it wasn't enough for him. Well, I like to make comparisons, but I told myself we had the new Varane. He was athletic and powerful, but exuded calm."

- Strasbourg reserve team coach François Keller.

"I like to communicate on the field. That's also why I like playing centre-back because you can see the whole game and you can talk. When I see someone not picking up his player, I tell him. The older players in the dressing room tell me it's fine!"

- Simakan on his growing influence at Strasbourg.