French talent Lucas Gourna-Douath, who turns 18 in a few days, is being courted by four top European clubs including Atalanta – according to RMC Sport.
The 17-year-old has turned heads due to his technicality and skills, that enabled him to post some mature performances for the Ligue 1 side during the course of last season. The defensive midfielder has been likened to Paul Pogba due to their similar style of play.
He has a market value of €12M, according to Transfermarkt, but anything in the range of €10M will reportedly be heard by Saint-Etienne. According to reports, Atalanta are bound to make the first offer, but the board expects the youngster to receive a bigger offer if he does remain in France for one more season to aid his development.
Saint-Etienne, who do not want to let the teenager go, will have the option to get him loaned back to the club if they do successfully manage to sell him – subject to the buyer’s stance, of course.
The France U-19 international has also been enquired about by Dortmund, Chelsea and Leverkusen scouts.
Chelsea have been in the exact same position before, when they signed Kurt Zouma from Les Verts in 2014. Bundesliga duo Dortmund and Leverkusen are also in line to get Gourna-Douath.