PSG have confirmed the signing of Italy wonderkid Cher Ndour: here’s a profile of the exciting 18-year-old midfielder who has been tipped to become the ‘next Paul Pogba.’
Born in Brescia on July 27, 2004, Ndour will turn 19 later this month. His father is from Senegal, but his mother is from Brescia, Italy.
Ndour revealed in an interview with Il Corriere della Sera in April 2022 that Senegal had contacted him to play for their youth teams, but he had other plans.
“I’ve decided to represent Italy, Senegal is part of me, but I feel Italian and my dream is to play the 2026 World Cup with the Azzurri,” he said.
On paper, he can still play for Senegal’s first team until he makes his official senior debut with La Nazionale, but Roberto Mancini is already keeping a close eye on him and called Ndour for a special training camp at Coverciano in December 2022.
The 18-year-old has played for every Italy youth team from U15 to U20. He signed for PSG during the U19 European Championship and will play against Spain in the semi-finals on Thursday. He has scored one goal in three appearances in the competition so far.
Ndour started his career in the youth sector of Brescia before joining Atalanta and then Benfica where he signed his first professional contract in 2020.
“The start wasn’t easy, then I’ve settled in,” he said.
Ndour, or simply Cher, the name he’s picked to place at the back of his new PSG shirt, played just one game at a senior level with Benfica coming on as a substitute in a 5-1 win over Vitoria Guimaraes in March.
However, he’s become the youngest Benfica player to debut in their B squad in Portugal’s second division, beating Joao Felix’s record, at the age of 16 years and 279 days.
He also won the Youth League with the Portuguese giants in 2021-22, eliminating Juventus in the semi-finals and scoring one goal in a 6-0 win over Salzburg in the Final. Overall, he collected three goals and one assist in nine appearances in the European tournament that season.
Giovanni Valenti was one of his coaches at Brescia. The Italian tactician also worked with Mario Balotelli at the beginning of his career.
Despite his young age, Ndour is 1,90m tall and his physicality and technical skills are impressive, so much so he’s been tipped to become the next Pogba.
“I think it has to do with my body, but we both play as a Mezzala (box-to-box midfielder in Italian) and he [Pogba] has always been my idol, so comparisons flatter me, but it’s still early,” Ndour told Corriere last year.
The 18-year-old has signed a contract until June 2028 with the Ligue 1 giants.