PSG youngster Aouchiche joins Saint-Étienne for free - Tuchel “of course not happy”

What has long been speculated is now official. About three weeks after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired, French U18 international Adil Aouchiche has signed with AS Saint-Étienne until 2023. The traditional club officially announced the free transfer of the 18-year-old player on Monday afternoon.

“It was hard for Adil to find a place in midfield. I can understand him trying another club to pick up playing time there. But of course, I’m not happy, he has a lot of talent,” PSG head coach Thomas Tuchel said at the end of June when it was clear that Aouchiche would not be renewing with his youth club. Arsenal were reportedly interested in the youngster as well.

Aouchiche, who has been on the radar of several top clubs since scoring nine goals at the U17 European Championship last year and made his senior debut for PSG in August, is said to have turned down the professional contract offered by the club.

PSG boss Leonardo criticized association: “Terrible for the clubs”

Due to Aouchiche's market value of €5.4 million, the anger in the management of the Parisian club over the free departure was correspondingly great. Sporting director Leonardo complained about the maximum contract length for youth players set by the association, which in France is three years.

“Within the current framework (...) the young people trained by us have the opportunity to sign abroad without any fee being paid at the age of 18 or 19, exactly the age at which we want to integrate them into the first team,” the 50-year-old was quoted by RMC Sport. “It’s terrible for the clubs because it puts us in complex situations where we only have two options. Either we let them go or we pay way too much.”

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