By Jonathan Johnson (@Jon_LeGossip)

With Anthony Martial earning good reviews during his first season of English Premier League football with Manchester United, many are wondering who Ligue 1’s next big attacking talent will be. Stade Rennais’ Ousmane Dembele, who scored a superb hat-trick in Les Rouges et Noirs’ 4-1 Breton derby victory at home to FC Nantes last Sunday, is arguably the leading candidate. However, another name is emerging in Le Championnat at present and like Martial, all eyes will be on Stade Louis II to keep tabs on his development. AS Monaco’s Kylian Mbappé recently put pen to paper on his first professional contract with Les Monegasques and the 17-year-old is now tied to the principality outfit until 2019. “I’m very happy and very proud to sign my first professional contract AS Monaco,” the prodigiously talented teenage attacker revealed in the seven-time French champions’ official announcement of the youngster signing on professional terms.

“This is the club that has helped me grow, I feel good here and I’m going to be able to continue taking new steps forward,” the Paris-born youngster continued. “I’ll be doing everything I can to repay the faith shown in me by the management, the staff and my teammates.” The news is a boost for Leonardo Jardim, who witnessed Mbappé break Thierry Henry’s long-standing record as Monaco’s youngest ever goal scorer when he netted in a 3-1 home win over ESTAC Troyes last month. Mbappé was 17 years, two months and one day old when he scored as a substitute against the Ligue 1 strugglers and it was just his seventh appearance off the bench across all competitions.  “We are very happy that Kylian Mbappé has signed his first professional contract,” said ASM Vice-President and CEO Vadim Vasilyev. “We have great belief in him. Kylian is a precocious, highly promising player, and we are convinced he will reach his full potential at Monaco.” “With Kylian attracting interest from some very big clubs, this agreement is further proof of the appeal of our project, where young talents can find their place.” “It is also a tribute to the work of the AS Monaco Academy,” added the Russian. “It’s always satisfying to be able to give a young player who has come through at the Centre the chance to make his way in the professional world.” “I have every confidence that with plenty of hard work, he can become a player of great talent.” It is easy to see why Monaco were so desperate to tie Mbappé down to professional terms. The youngster, who can play anywhere across the front line, is blessed with explosive pace, an ability to dribble with the ball, a good eye for a pass and a low centre of gravity. Although he is not the most physically impressive of players, the teenager more than makes up for that with his technical attributes. His goal against Troyes and his assist in Les Monegasques’ 4-1 loss away at Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Europa League (when he was still just 16) is no doubt a taste of what is to come. Jardim and his players know that they have a potential star in their midst with Mbappé and captain Jeremy Toulalan is already doing his best to keep the youth academy prodigy grounded.

"What he's showing for his age is interesting," the former France international said of his young teammate. "But the path is long. I've seen others before who didn't come through. He has to be attentive and make the right choices."  As Vasilyev mentioned in his comments after the player signed his first professional contract, plenty of big clubs have shown interest in Mbappé. Hometown side and Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain are just one of those outfits. However, Monaco are a club with a clear project in place and the youngster will play an important role in their strategy.  The men from the principality regularly sell their best assets for big money each summer and then replace those departed star names with cheaper players who boast great potential. Mbappé, as a player raised in ASM’s youth academy, will not even cost them a fee and he will likely develop into a star capable of attracting a significant fee inside of two seasons. Although he might not fetch an amount as exorbitant as Martial, he has the potential to command that sort of figure. Jardim’s men can now start planning for the future with Mbappé’s immediate future secured. Come next season, the young Frenchman is likely to be playing a starring role at Stade Louis II and attracting admiring glances from across Europe.