Ibrahim Mbaye is feeling the effects of rapid rise at PSG – Landry Chauvin
Ibrahim Mbaye’s dream start to life with PSG has stalled since his return from the Africa Cup of Nations, and former French player Landry Chauvin believes the 17-year-old is simply paying the price for rising too fast.
After exploding into the spotlight for club and country earlier this season, Mbaye has struggled for minutes and rhythm in recent weeks.
“Can you imagine the emotional rollercoaster?” Chauvin said, recalling how Mbaye was initially called up by Senegal in November mainly to taste the national team environment, with the World Cup more in mind than AFCON.
“His appearances with PSG ultimately led to… It all happened so fast.” Chauvin compared him to Gessime Yassine, who returned to Dunkirk as the clear star after winning the U20 World Cup, a very different context to Paris.
“The problem is that in Paris, there are only stars. Falling back into anonymity after having been at the top of the African continent is something you have to deal with,” he added.
Since coming back from AFCON, Mbaye has started just one game, a sign that PSG are now managing his exposure more carefully as he adapts to the demands of elite football at such a young age.
