Thilo Kehrer, a rough diamond
The Under-21 German international defender arrives in Paris seeking to polish up the huge potential he has shown in his native country.
From the 2016/17 season, Thilo racked up 44 competitive appearances for Schalke, from whose youth academy he graduated, including 39 starts. The 21-year-old also scored four goals and provided an assist before joining Paris Saint-Germain where he will be reunited with Julian Draxler, whom he played alongside in the Gelsenkirchen club's junior sides.
A solid barrier to opponents (58% of challenges won over the last two seasons) and also at ease with the ball at his feet (83% pass completion per match), Thilo is the ideal recruit for the Rouge-et-Bleu's new coach, Thomas Tuchel. "Thilo is a very committed player, very professional, he told PSGTV. I like his personality, he already has a certain maturity as he's captain of Germany's Under-21 side. He's quick, able to play in any of the four positions at the back, is two-footed, and can even play as a defensive midfielder. He's the sort of player any coach would like to have."
Those words of praise back up the impression that the new Paris defender will have little trouble adapting to his new surroundings, particularly as he has been used to playing in back fours and back threes over the last two campaigns.
After picking up the Under-21 EURO title with his country in Poland in summer 2017, Thilo scored twice on the penultimate Matchday of the 2017/18 Bundesliga season to secure a 2-1 win over Augsburg and ensure Schalke finish runners-up to Bayern Munich, clinching a place in this season's UEFA Champions League group stage.
It's a competition he will now feature in for Paris, with whom he can harbour great ambitions.