French youth international Michael Cuisance is the latest name to be linked with a move to Leeds United.
The Bayern Munich star first burst onto the scene as a teenager in the 2017/18 season and went on to be named Borussia Monchengladbach’s Player of the Season in his debut campaign.
Those breakthrough appearances earned him a move to the perennial Bundesliga champions last summer, but he’s struggled for regular first-team playing opportunities in Bavaria and been tipped to move away.
Here’s what’s been said about the 21-year-old midfielder, from those who know him best.
Christoph Kramer
“It's unbelievable how well trained young players are nowadays,” said Germany international Christoph Kramer, who played alongside the youngster as he broke through at Borussia Monchengladbach.
“At 17 he's as far along as I was when I was 22.”
Hasan Salihamidžić (Bayern Munich Director of Football)
“He has a really good left foot – there’s music in it,” said Bayern’s sporting director after sealing his signature last summer.
“Being the only left-leaning player in the midfield mix could, of course, play in Cuisance’s favour – but he knows that any game time at Bayern will be hard-earned.
"Michael has his strengths in possession football. He has great technique, a strong left foot and a great mentality.
“Our opinion is that in the possession game that we play, he can develop further, fulfil his potential and improve and strengthen our team.”
Robert Lewandowski
“He’s a young player with huge potential,” said the Poland international, having first seen Cuisance impress at a pre-season tournament.
“I didn’t know him at the time but I thought ‘this kid has a good future in front of him’.”
Jean-Robert Foucher (French youth coach)
“He’s the strongest I saw pass through, even if you can’t be sure how things will develop,” Foucher told L’Est Républicain, via Bundesliga.com .
“But I knew all the same that he would be a professional… his game intelligence, his desire, his determination. He was capable, for example, of changing his decision [on the ball] at the last second. But he worked really hard to get to that point.”
Dieter Hecking
"Michael is an exceptional player for his age. He's a game-changer,” said the former Borussia Monchengladbach coach Dieter Hecking, who handed Cuisance his senior debut.
Marco Rose
One coach that hasn’t been too impressed with Cuisance is Gladbach’s highly-regarded manager Marco Rose, whose path only briefly crossed with the youngster after he was appointed last summer.
"He will certainly not behave in the same way at his new employer as he did here. That's the point. It's not acceptable here either," he said.
"For us, the transfer was inevitable. I got the impression that Borussia [Monchengladbach] had become too small for him.”
Hansi Flick
The youngster didn’t get many opportunities under the treble-winning manager last term, but he evidently impressed in training, and was given a 45-minute run-out in a 45-minute run-out against Fortuna Dusseldorf during the title run-in over the summer.
"It was the reward for having trained very, very well in the last few weeks and months and making a very positive development," Flick explained.
He’d go on to make a few more post-lockdown appearances, and scored his first career goal, playing all 90 minutes on the final day’s 4-0 mauling of Wolfsburg.
Michael Bridges
“Speaking to someone in Germany, he was in a midfield log jam at Bayern Munich last season. At just 21 he’s still got time to develop,” the former Leeds striker told Sky Sports .
“My contact in Germany said, ‘Think of Michael Carrick. Good vision, good technique, and someone who can spot a pass’. Very exciting.”
Michael Cuisance
"Thiago, he's phenomenal," said the man himself when asked who most influenced him at Bayern, via Bundesliga.com.
“I chose to sit next to him, I wanted to learn from one of the best midfielders in the business. He's helped me a lot, he's a good guy. He's at the top and I'm still at the bottom."
