RB Leipzig have announced the permanent signing of 18-year-old defender El Chadaille Bitshiabu on a permanent deal from Paris Saint-Germain.
The 2005-born centre-back arrives in the Bundesliga following a six-year spell at the Parc des Princes, having joined the PSG youth academy in 2017.
Bitshiabu broke into the first team at PSG during the 2021-22 campaign and continued his development under Christophe Galtier, making 16 appearances in all tournaments last term.
With Marquinhos and Presnel Kimpembe struggling with injuries last season, Bitshiabu earned six starts in Ligue 1 - appearing in a further seven games off the bench - and he played 45 minutes of their Champions League last-16 second leg loss to Bayern Munich.
However, the arrivals of Lucas Hernandez and Milan Skriniar pushed the teenager down the pecking order, and he has now penned a five-year contract with Leipzig, where he will wear the number five shirt.
"I'm delighted to now be a part of RB Leipzig. The club has a great reputation in France, partly because of their on-the-pitch success, but also because young players can undergo an incredible development here at the highest level," Bitshiabu told the official Leipzig website.
"Max Eberl and the management showed me the club's unique and exciting path, which lured me in right away. I cannot wait to start getting ready for the new season together with the team."
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Leipzig board member Eberl added: "El Chadaille is one of the most exciting young defenders in Europe and we're proud that he now plays for RB Leipzig. Even though he just turned 18 in May, he's already played 19 times for PSG's first team at the top level and that just shows the kind of quality he possesses.
"El Chadaille is extremely quick, strong in the air, a tough tackler and good on the ball too. The fact that he's also left footed means he perfectly fit the kind of player we wanted.
"Nevertheless, he's a still really young and has moved to a new country and new club. El Chadaille will get the time he needs to settle in here so that he can slowly start to perform to his best and help us out on the pitch."
Bitshiabu leaves PSG having made 19 appearances for the Parisiens' first team, winning two Ligue 1 titles, and he also became a European Under-17 champion with France last year.
The defender - who stands at 6ft 5in tall - has since earned three caps for France's Under-19 team, and he becomes Leipzig's seventh signing of the summer after Lois Openda, Benjamin Sesko, Christoph Baumgartner, Nicolas Seiwald, Leopold Zingerle and Liverpool loanee Fabio Carvalho.
PSG could reportedly receive up to €20m (£17.2m) for the sale of Bitshiabu if all performance-related add-ons are achieved, and the Frenchman could potentially succeed Josko Gvardiol at the Red Bull Arena as Manchester City continue to work on a deal for the highly-rated Croatian.
Bitshiabu becomes the second player to swap PSG for Germany this summer - following Eintracht Frankfurt-bound Eric Ebimbe to the Bundesliga - while Lionel Messi and Sergio Ramos have also departed Paris ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.
Ben Knapton
