Ligue 1 have their very own teenage shot-stopper to rival Serie A’s and AC Milan’s Gianluigi Donnarumma in the form of Alban Lafont. The starlet became the youngest ever goalkeeper to make his debut in the French top-flight when he started for Toulouse against Nice at the tender age of 16 years-old and 10 months back in November. What’s more, Lafont kept a clean sheet too, outdoing his fellow teenage colleague Donnarumma who was beaten by a Domenico Berardi free-kick on his first start in goal for the Rossoneri.

Born in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, his family moved to France at the age of 9. Initially an outfield player, he took his place in between the sticks at the age of 12. At 14 he caught the attention of current club Toulouse where he has gone on to establish himself as a reliable member of the French outfit, making 22 appearances and boasting 7 shut-outs.

Due to his tender age, the comparisons are naturally with Donnarumma and both goalies have won praise for their ability to stay grounded despite all of the hype surrounding them. As an aspiring Les Bleus shot stopper however – he has played for France at U16 and U17 – Lafont has naturally been compared to former France number 1 Fabien Barthez and will be dreaming of following in the 1998 World Cup winner’s footsteps. The good thing is that time is certainly on his side.