Is Bayern Munich poised to poach another PSG prodigy?

According to Sport Bild’s Tobi Altschäffl, Bayern Munich is poised to make another poaching attempt at Paris Saint-Germain’s fertile academy.

This time, the Bavarians are reportedly targeting PSG center-back prospect El Chadaille Bitshiabu. Bitshiabu is a 16-year-old who has played both as a central defender and a defensive midfielder. Bitshiabu would not be considered a reinforcement for the first team, but a prospect who could develop on campus:

Bitshiabu was born in France, his parents are from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2017, at the age of 12, he moved to the PSG academy, where he signed his first professional contract last summer (runs until 2024). Making his debut on 19 December 2021 in the 3-0 Cup win over Feignies Aulnoye became the youngest player ever to play for PSG at the age of 16 years and 213 days. He inherited today’s Bayern star Kingsley Coman (25) in the club’s history.

Bayern have already grabbed a defensive jewel from PSG in recent years. In 2020, the bosses brought Tanguy Nianzou (20) to Munich free of charge.

Bitshiabu currently has a deal with PSG through 2024, so it is unclear when a deal would happen — or how much it might cost.

Foot Mercato journalist Santo Aouna corroborated the report and added more context:

True and there have already been several meetings in Germany between his agent and the leaders of Bayern.

Targeting Bitshiabu could signal a “buy low, sell high” move that is — allegedly — the new direction for the club. As Bayern Munich begins its philosophical shift toward developing young players and selling them for (hopefully) a big profit, Bitshiabu could be one of the first case studies for seeing if Bayern Munich can make it work since the news leaked out about a formal strategy being put in place.

Altschäffl also stated that Bayern Munich is paying close attention to the youth systems in France, which are intriguing to the club.