BENOÎT BADIASHILE – France’s Next Top Model Centre-Back

Tall athletic and left-footed, Monaco have done it again, their latest wonderous creation is a left-footed centre back with a natural penchant for stopping opposition attackers in their tracks.

Standing at a Herculean 6’4ft, Badiashile is a player of immense potential that Dider Deschamps and Les Bleus will have pockmarked for future campaigns.

At just 21-years-old, the youngster is already a fundamental cog in the Monaco machine, with him they look defensively sound but with without him they are vulnerable.

The Monaco man has already shown maturity beyond his years in his embryonic football career by choosing to stay in Ligue1 to hone his craft.

Endowed with stability and support, his powers are growing on a monthly basis in Ligue1 naturally with the January transfer window on the horizon he is subject of intense transfer speculation.

The fact he was left on the bench for Monaco’s dramatic 3-2 win over Auxerre could signal his departure is imminent.

A kernel of young hungry French stars is exported around the Euro leagues each season; some thrive but others irrefutably suffer detours in their development.

Badiashile and William Saliba are two juxtapositional gems in French football terms, two defensive sentries full of promise but there is one subtle yet substantial difference between the two.

The big money move has not come at Badiashile’s door and engulfed his development in chaos, perhaps he has seen the dangers of making a transfer leap of faith too soon.

In the summer of 2019, Saliba a then 19-year-old was hovered up by the glitz and glamour of the Premier League money and enticed to the bright lights of London.

His move to Arsenal on paper looked as defensively sound as the abilities he had displayed in St Etienne colours.

But it took many moons and two more stints in Ligue1 for Saliba to gain access to regular first-team action at the Emirates.

Saliba was not developed in England, his tutelage was an elixir concocted in St Etienne, OGC Nice and Olympique Marseille.

Today Saliba is a star, but his development was needlessly stunted by making the big transfer jump too soon, to date Badiashile has avoided such pitfalls amongst the familiar surrounds of Ligue1.

The Monaco stopper seems to have been around for an age already such is the depth and wealth of the first team action he has been bestowed at such a tender age.

Experienced at international level after being summoned by Deschamps for the Nations League in November, Badiashile is a readymade centre back primed for his next step in the game.

Infused with an abundance of experience at a slender age, his embryonic football career looks destined for the top.

Every transfer is laden with risk but when it comes to Badiashile given his development to date he seems a safer bet than most on paper at least.

By Liam Scahill