Baldé was unlucky to find himself on the losing side on Saturday, twice giving Troyes the lead against PSG before his goal haul was eventually drowned out by strikes from Lionel Messi, Neymar Jr. and Kylian Mbappé.

The 26-year-old now has seven goals from 13 games in Ligue 1 Uber Eats this term - 12 of them starts - and finally looks to have found his best position at the point of the Champagne club's attack.

Back story:

Born in Bissau, the capital city of Guinea-Bissau, in November 1995, Baldé moved to Portugal at the age of nine and joined the youth academy of Sporting Lisbon aged 17.

He began his career as a right-back in Sporting's B team, and it was from this position he made his debut when on loan at Aves. But in two years with the club he gradually started further up the pitch, and he was their record Primeira Liga scorer with nine goals befpre he left for Dijon FCO in 2019.

Also eligible to play for Portugal, it was around this time Baldé made his debut for Guinea-Bissau, whom he has now represented 16 times, scoring once. When Dijon were relegated in 2021, he left for Troyes, who had just been promoted.

Style of play:

Initially a defender, then a midfielder and now a forward, Baldé's pace, power and athleticism have allowed him to thrive in any of those roles, but Troyes head coach Bruno Irles seems to have really unlocked his potential as a central striker.

Baldé is able to play with his back to goal, holding the ball up and bringing teammates into play, but he also has the speed to spin his marker and sprint onto a through-ball.

Watch: Highlights of Troyes' narrow 4-3 loss to PSG

Current campaign:

Baldé was even playing on the left wing at the start of the season, with Chelsea academy graduate Iké Ugbo leading the line.

He has now scored seven times this season, with goals against Montpellier Hérault SC, Angers SCO, AS Monaco and two against Clermont Foot 63 before he put two past Gigio Donnarumma. One more and he will already have matched his season-best with Aves.

What they said:

"You just have to look at his performances, you can see he's become very effective. Obviously that makes the difference. He helps us when he has his back to goal, and he's improved a lot on last year. In training he's difficult to handle. He's really strong and is the archetype of the modern striker. I think he's found the role that suits him perfectly."

- Troyes teammates Tristan Dingomé on Baldé's evolution.

"It's a continuation of what he's been doing since the start of this season. He worked for the team and was also effective defensively. I'm happy with what he's showing now. The only question was consistency but now, week after week, he's showing his confidence, and that's all him."

- Troyes coach Irles after Baldé's PSG brace.