Rennes
In a sentence
A 16-year-old Ligue 1 phenomenon, the
precocious Rennes defensive midfielder
had tongues wagging all over Europe with
a masterclass in August’s 2-1 win against
Paris Saint-Germain.What they say
Jo Burel, his coach at Drapeau-Fougeres:
“It’s the first time I’ve seen a player with
such qualities. He had extraordinary
talent. When we needed to hang on to a
result we’d put him in defence. If we were
out for the win he’d play in attack.”
Landry Chauvin, former Rennes
academy manager: “He’s of the
same calibre
as Ousmane
Dembele. I
can imagine
him taking a
similar career
trajectory.”Story so far
Born in Angola
to Congolese
parents, he
moved with his
family to France
when he was a
toddler, initially living in Lille, then
moving to the Breton town of Fougeres.
He joined local outfit Drapeau shortly
after starting school and five years later
was inducted into Rennes’ academy.
At the age of 15 he was playing for
the club’s reserve side and he was barely
16 when he signed his first professional
contract. He made his first-team debut
in April in a Ligue 1 encounter at Angers,
coming off the bench to become the
youngest player in Rennes’ history at
16 years, 4 months and 27 days.
He completed the 2018-19 campaign
with two more substitute appearances
and three very promising starts for
the first team, and also helped Rennes
under-17s to the national title. This term
he has been ever-present for the Breton
club and was voted Ligue 1’s player of the
month for August.The next step
It’s only a matter of time before the boy
wonder goes on to bigger and better
things. Barcelona technical secretary Eric
Abidal is thought to have fallen under the
teenager’s charm, while Spanish dailyMarca reports that Real Madrid are
keeping a beady eye on him, with
Arsenal, Manchester United and Borussia
Dortmund also in the recruitment mix.
Rennes, who recently extended his
contract until June 2022, would be
delighted if they could keep him for
another couple of seasons.Strengths
His distribution is good and he is quick to
break forward from deep positions. He is
equally proficient as a holding midfielder
or box-to-box player.Weaknesses
A certain lack of hard-nosed aggression
in his defensive
work. On occasion,
his body language
can give the
impression of
nonchalance.WORDS: Nick Bidwell
Eduardo CAMAVINGA
3
THINGS YOU
DIDN’T KNOWABOUT CAMAVINGA
O As a youngster he preferred judo to football.
His mother had to convince him to join his first
club, Drapeau-Fougeres.
O Despite his years of residence, he is not yet a
French citizen and still has an Angolan passport.
O Physically he is still growing. Since the start
of this season he has grown four centimetres
in height, an increase which has led to him to
complain of back pain.“He’s of the same calibre as Ousmane Dembele. I
can imagine him taking a similar career trajectory”
Landry Chauvin, former Rennes academy manager
TE
EN
AGE (^)
TY
RO
S