Aston Villa secured the signature of 18-year-old winger Ibrahim Mbaye from Paris Saint-Germain for a reported £47m when the summer transfer window closed on 1 September. The France-born Senegal international put pen to paper on a five-year deal that includes the possibility of extending his stay by a further twelve months, according to Sports Mole.
Birmingham Live reports that recruitment staff had identified Mbaye as a target back in January before returning to complete the deal late in the window. The publication adds that Liverpool were also tracking the teenager, who becomes the latest addition to a significantly reshaped squad under Unai Emery.
Sports Mole states that journalist Ben Jacobs values the transaction at €60m from the selling club’s perspective, with a guaranteed €4m sell-on clause written into the agreement. The outlet also suggests the relationship between Villa chairman Nassef Sawiris and his PSG counterpart helped smooth negotiations.
Mbaye progressed through the youth system in the French capital and broke into senior football two years ago. Across 42 outings he contributed four goals and the same number of assists, helping his former employers lift domestic trophies alongside two Champions League titles.
Speaking to Cheikh Footstyle in comments relayed by Sport Witness via Onze Mondial, the attacker reflected candidly on his time in France. He explained that sharing a dressing room with high-profile forwards made him demand too much of himself prematurely.
“At PSG, things weren’t necessarily going the way I wanted. I put a certain amount of pressure on myself that I shouldn’t have,” Mbaye said. “I saw great players like Dembélé, Kvara, Désiré, Bradley, Gonçalo, great strikers, and I kept thinking, ‘I have to do better than them’.”
He insisted those experiences will shape his approach in the West Midlands. “You have to learn from them. The more you train, the more you play with them, the more you’ll understand things you didn’t understand before,” he added.
Birmingham Live indicates the newcomer could feature for the first time when Villa travel to face Hull City at the MKM Stadium this Saturday evening. Capable of operating on either flank, Mbaye arrives having already earned 15 caps and scored four times for Senegal at senior international level.
