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PSG's Doue, the teenager who is the talk of Europe



 When Desire Doue walked off slowly and disconsolately after only 64 minutes at Arsenal in October, the teenager touted as French football's next golden boy looked alone and out of his depth.

Fast forward six months - with a potential Champions League semi-final reunion with the Gunners a growing possibility - and Paris St-Germain's brilliant young forward has captured the imagination of Europe.

For someone whose name translates to 'desire gifted' in English, the 19-year-old has lived up to that billing since putting the false start behind him in spectacular fashion.

Doue's day of disappointment came in a 2-0 loss at Emirates Stadium in the tournament's new league table format.

Since then, he has matured into a central piece in the new PSG assembled by coach Luis Enrique, performing superbly when Manchester City were beaten 4-2 at Parc des Princes in January, then delivering a brilliant cameo as a substitute before scoring the decisive penalty in the shootout win at Anfield in the last 16.

And, in his most mesmerising display yet, he scored a stunning curling equaliser while running Aston Villa ragged in PSG's captivating 3-1 win in the quarter-final first leg.

All eyes at Villa Park on Wednesday will be on Doue, one of the poster boys - along with Georgian genius Khvicha Kvaratskhelia - for the new PSG model as they move away from the so-called 'Bling Bling' era of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi to a structured team ethic.

It has been a meteoric rise for Angers-born Doue, who was not even a guaranteed starter at Rennes last season before making a £43m move to PSG in the summer as they tried to fill Mbappe-sized holes in their attack.

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