After Riyad Mahrez and N'Golo Kante, we can add another exciting name to the list of recent Ligue 1 rejects - Naby Keita.
Mahrez and Kante. Both Premier League title winners. Both awarded Premier League Player of the Year. And both, having launched their careers in Ligue 2, shunned by France's top flight.
And now there's Naby Keita. A revelation with Red Bull Leipzig. A player who has Liverpool, Arsenal and Kante's Chelsea all chasing his signature. Even Bayern Munich have made an attempt. But in France, at little FC Istres, he was ignored by Ligue 1 clubs. Even Les Bleus icon Luis Fernandez concedes Keita was another to slip the net.
"He's a very good player," says Fernandez, who worked with Keita as Guinea's national team coach. "He went through Istre. And he was offered to many Ligue 1 clubs. In vain.
"Naby now proves his worth in Germany. He's a player to follow. I can say that he is the African 'Iniesta'. They have the same style of play."
Fernandez may liken him to Andres Iniesta, the Barcelona captain, but his Guinea teammates and those at former club FC Santoba have dubbed the 22 year-old, 'Deco'.
"Naby was always very energetic, technical and more aggressive (than others). In Conakry, everyone thought at the time that Naby was going to find himself at the top level and playing for the biggest European clubs," says ex-Santoba teammate Fode Kebe.
With his eye for a pass, the comparisons with Barca's finest are understandable, but there's more to Keita's game than what he does in the attacking third. As Kebe's says, it's his "energy" and box-to-box ability which has Europe's biggest clubs following him this season. "He's just a crazy player," says RBL coach Ralph Hasenhüttl.
Like Kante and Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez, Keita's rejection in France is all the more baffling when you consider the efforts Istres made to sign him.
"Istres made a big effort (to sign him) by giving him the best possible contract knowing they have no great financial means. The club could see his potential," recalls agent Abdoul Karim Bangoura.
Keita adds: "When I arrived in France, I had six months with Le Mans. But because of financial difficulties they couldn't sign me. Fortunately, Istres offered me a trial and I did enough to impress.
"Jose Pasqualetti gave me a chance to prove myself. I did everything to prove him right. I'm very grateful to him."
A year with Istres was followed by two seasons in Austria with Red Bull Salzburg. It was there, Keita began to establish a reputation that had clubs across Europe banging on the door of then Red Bull football chief Gerard Houllier. The midfielder, by his own admission, harboured hopes of a move to England, but was convinced to remain in the Red Bull network for at least another 12 months.
"It was quite easy for me to make a decision because I know the philosophy in Leipzig from Salzburg," declared Keita last summer upon penning terms with RBL. "For me, it's only about developing and helping the club. What will come later, we will see."
A season on and Keita's profile, like that of his club, has exploded. The midfielder is hot property right across Europe. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is a fan. As is Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. And with talks dragging on over a deal for Atalanta prospect Franck Kessie, Chelsea chief Michael Emenalo is considering Keita as an alternative.
But the 'Guinean Deco' may not be lost to the Bundesliga, with Bayern identifying Keita as an ideal replacement for the retiring Xabi Alonso. Just how could France's biggest clubs make such a howler?
Ralf Rangnick, RB Leipzig's wily sports director, knows they face a battle to hang onto their young star.
Amid talk of Klopp making contact, Rangnick declared last month: "It's quite clear that Naby is playing with us next season, there is no pain threshold, and his departure would only give us much more pain."
But then, just a week later and with Bayern's interest hitting the back pages, Rangnick was a little less bullish.
"Whether he will play with us in three to four years, no one knows, but he will be very likely play with us next season.
"Naby is an extraordinary player who can play in any European top-flight."
But it is England Keita pines for and Liverpool, thanks to one trump card Klopp holds, which are favourites to land the midfielder should RBL be prepared to sell.
"Sadio Mane showed me the way," says Keita, who was aware of the Reds star in Salzburg. "Who doesn't dream of playing in the Premier League and making your mark like he has done today?
"He proves that hard work does pay off. Mane's help has been very important to me in my career."
So Liverpool it is? Maybe. But after clinching Champions League qualification at first attempt, RBL management are counting on Keita sticking around for at least one more year.
"You have to be focused on the pitch. It's the job of the club and my agent to handle this, mine is to work hard, to help the team and to win games. We'll just have to see what happens..."
Source: tribalfootball.com