Who is Désiré Doué, the new French talent recruited by Paris Saint-Germain?

The capital club announced the signing of the 19-year-old Frenchman for the next five years. He arrives from Rennes, where he was trained.

He will leave Brittany to join the capital. After several weeks of negotiations, Paris Saint-Germain announced the recruitment of young Frenchman Désiré Doué, Saturday August 17, 2024. Former player of Stade Rennais, where he spent two full seasons, the midfielder with a versatile profile was highly sought after in Europe, particularly by Bayern Munich. Who is this young talent who has managed to seduce the PSG management? Franceinfo:sport introduces them.

Football in the blood

Born on June 3, 2005 in Angers, to a French mother and an Ivorian father, Désiré Doué started playing football at the age of six, playing for Stade Rennais. Fully trained within the Breton club, he crossed paths with his older brother, Guéla Doué (21 years old), who made 24 appearances with the Red and Black last season, before signing with RC Strasbourg on July 25.

Far from being disoriented by joining the Stade Rennais first team, Désiré Doué also joins his cousin, Yann Gboho. Having passed through FC Rouen, before finishing his training in Rennes, the 23-year-old attacking midfielder played with the city club from 2018 to 2021, before being loaned to the Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem the following season, and joining Cercle Bruges in the summer of 2022.

A versatile profile

If Désiré Doué has attracted the attention of two of the best clubs in Europe, it is above all thanks to his great versatility. Able to project himself forward, the player is very comfortable on the wings, but can also be very effective when he is aligned in a relay midfield role. A real Swiss army knife who will strengthen the PSG midfield, and will offer more possibilities to Luis Enrique throughout the season.

Fast and skillful in dribbling, the 19-year-old player brings constant attacking danger when he is on the pitch. Last season with Stade Rennais, he scored four goals and provided four assists. But, behind these statistics, he is among the very best in Europe if we combine different parameters such as shots, crosses and dribbles, revealing that he constantly creates danger. Also author of 172 successful tackles and twenty aerial duels won, Désiré Doué will be able to make his contribution to the Parisian defense if he is positioned in the heart of the game.

Already a lot of experience at the highest level

Having joined his former club’s professional squad in February 2022, Désiré Doué signed his first professional contract the following month, at the age of 16. Now 19, the young midfielder has already played 76 official matches with Stade Rennais. With regular starts in Ligue 1, but also several appearances in the Coupe de France and the Europa League, the player joins PSG with significant experience for his young age.

He had to quickly assimilate the codes of the professional world. At the start, his coach at the time, Bruno Génésio, did not hesitate to publicly point out certain shortcomings. Coming into play in the 70th minute against Lyon in April 2023, he was taken off in the 87th. “There are things that need to be assimilated quickly, when we say once is normal, twice is one time too many, three, four times, we need to use other methods”, had warned the coach, today in Lille. Message heard by the midfield.

Beyond the two great seasons he had in Brittany, Désiré Doué wore the tricolor jersey for the Paris Games. Selected by Thierry Henry at the beginning of July to join the Olympic squad, the new Parisian distinguished himself with several convincing appearances. He notably scored a goal in the third group match, against New Zealand, and provided an assist to Michael Olise in the semi-finals against Egypt. It is therefore freshly adorned with Olympic silver that the player will begin his new season with the Parisian club.