Remember the name: Eduardo Camavinga
Born: 10 November 2002
Nationality: French
Position: Midfielder
Club career: Rennes (2019-)
Camavinga has been making headlines this week as he’s set to possibly become the first footballer under the age of 18 to play for France since the Second World War. After Paul Pogba tested positive for Covid-19, Didier Deschamps promoted the 17-year-old Rennes midfielder to the French senior squad for their Nations League fixtures against Sweden and Croatia in September.
Born in Angola before moving to Brittany aged two, Camavinga joined Rennes aged 11. Progressing through the youth ranks, he made his senior debut at just 16 in 2019 and immediately looked at home. He made 25 appearances last season as the Ligue 1 club punched above its weight and qualified for the Champions League. He has been linked with a move to Real Madrid but is expected to remain at Rennes for one more season. After that, he will almost certainly land a big move to one of Europe’s top dogs.
Watch how easy he makes it all look:
Given that France has the biggest pool of talent in the world currently (and it’s not even close), Camavinga is clearly a very special player. Playing at the base of Rennes’ midfield, the tall left-footer has already shown a maturity and poise way beyond his years. When Rennes beat PSG in August 2019, Camavinga set up the winning goal with a lovely floated pass, and was voted man of the match. To do that at 16 against a midfield of Draxler, Marquinhos and Verratti is mind-blowing. A full France debut at 17 would be no less impressive.