Jeff Reine-Adelaide

[DontPushMe]

The next zelalem!

[Cripps]

The next zelalem!

Exactly my take on it.

We won't see this dude in anything other than a capital one match and depending how far we get in that and who we face.

Sold to Brentford by page 50.

[Santi]

Nah this guy actually looks good and within the first team, never seen Zelalem do anything tbh just heard the hype train rol on by for the last 3 years.

Adelaide looked good even if it was a friendly cup he took his chances well, comfortable on the ball and skillful. Not sure about the Diaby comparisons as he doesn't look like a CM in the slightest, an inside forward or a CAM imo. Diaby was way more powerful where as this guy is more of a trickster judging solely from the last 2 days. Will be glad to see more of him, hopefully doesn't get frozen out but these youngsters have to earn their time..goes for Akpom, Iwobi and Hayden too.

[gooney]

I think Jeff exposed what I been saying for long time.....we dont have wonder talents at the club. Now this is what you call wonder special talent. Can come in at 17 to Arsenal first team and straight away shine. Even at his first run with the ball I took notice. Straight away you could see he is a level above our young players who are good talents. But nothing special

[Big17]

Funny how no one knew much about this guy on before Saturday now we're talking him up about being a top prospect.

It's hard not to get excited about him after his displays this weekend. Apart from Ramsey, Ozil & Chambo on Saturday, this guy was the standout player over the two days.

My only main issue is where the hell is his best position going to be? He's strong, quick, direct, skilful, has good control and has a decent pass on him. By the looks of it he could play on the wings, AM or even in as a CM.

He's 17 so he still has a long way to go. I'm glad Wenger is not going to loan him out because I think training day in day out with the like of Ozil, Alexis ect will benefit him more at the moment. I'm sure he'll get a few appearances in the Carling cup to.

[gooney]

tbf it makes sense we didnt know anything about him as he had no senior football. I mean who in france knew about wilshere before he played for our first team? But in France he is seen as huge talent. They even had an article about him in Lequipe when he was 12

http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualit ... jeff/93838

[yadunoe]

this guy looks the real deal his control is amazing

[Fran Solo]

Great work from our scouts. I wonder how good is Yasser Fortune. He's a year younger than Reine-Adelaide.

[Angelito]

Funny how no one knew much about this guy on before Saturday now we're talking him up about being a top prospect.

It's hard not to get excited about him after his displays this weekend. Apart from Ramsey, Ozil & Chambo on Saturday, this guy was the standout player over the two days.

My only main issue is where the hell is his best position going to be? He's strong, quick, direct, skilful, has good control and has a decent pass on him. By the looks of it he could play on the wings, AM or even in as a CM.

He's 17 so he still has a long way to go. I'm glad Wenger is not going to loan him out because I think training day in day out with the like of Ozil, Alexis ect will benefit him more at the moment. I'm sure he'll get a few appearances in the Carling cup to.

It's not funny that people are raving him now. It's the first time people have seen him against a major club alongside first team players and he shined straight away.

He seems another one of those players who can play anywhere in the midfield/flanks (apart from as a DM of course) and we seem to be abundant on that front.

[Minstrel Boy]

Zelalem looked like a player with a brilliant passing range when he first debuted but while Adelaide is a totally different type of player, a clear advantage he has going his way is that he already looks physically up to playing at Prem level. Dare I say that I see more of a classy winger in him in the mould of Pires rather than a Diaby.

[Dai_Dillinger]

Excited about our young players coming through!

[Jackson]

A local journo's take on JRA and YF...

PROSPECTS: Arsenal’s Duo: Yassin Fortuné & Jeff-Reine Adelaïde
RC Lens expert and journalist Romain Scheers gives you the lowdown on soon-to-be Arsenal duo Yassin Fortuné (16) and Jeff-Reine Adelaïde (17), who will join Arsène Wenger’s men for a reported €4m this summer.

Yassin Fortuné and Jeff-Reine Adelaïde are two French youth internationals and two great hopes of the La Gaillette, the RC Lens training centre, the same centre of excellence that has produced the likes of Varane, Aurier and Kondogbia.

Yassin Fortuné was born on the 30th January 1999 at Aubervilliers. His first footballing exploits occurred at Stains, a small youth team in Paris before being spotted by this season’s National Champions Red Star. At the age of 13, he joined RC Lens with the feeling in mind that “La Gaillette is one of the best youth academies in France”.

He was not one to be taken aback in awe of the opportunity in front of him however. At the age of 15, he was promoted to the RC Lens U17 side, for just one season, before alternating for the U19s this season and Lens’s reserve team. The young forward man, who possesses great technical ability and is exceptionally creative, will now realise his dream by joining Arsenal. It has been an open secret for some time that he dreamt of playing in England. Yassin Fortuné represented the France U16s ten times, scoring five goals in the process. His profile is almost identical that of Thierry Henry, both in terms of stature and in terms of attacking qualities. Fortuné, as is often the case at an early age, has been played in a number of positions, including a forward midfield role.

He very much relishes attempting take-ons, in a very similar way to Divock Origi and Raheem Sterling. He is currently considered as one of the best young talents that Lens have at their disposal, but he will have to prove it all over again in the Arsenal youth setup.

Jeff-Reine Adelaïde was born on the 17th January 1998 at Champigny-sur-Marne. At just 17 years of age, he can already say that he is a European Champion. On Friday evening, France U17s beat Germany 4-1. The last France U17s setup to achieve this feat contained Karim Benzema, Samir Nasri and Benoit Costil in it. During the final, this youngster created several chances on goal for himself, but failed to convert them. The biggest of these came after 25 minutes where he missed a very good 1-on-1 chance against German goalkeeper Fromann.

Adelaïde began his footballing career playing for his local team, before being picked out of the rough by a relatively local side in form of Torcy. With offers from several sides in France but also elsewhere in Europe, he decided to join RC Lens’ youth academy setup.

Swift, pacey and with a frightening change of pace, Adelaïde excels at beating his man. He often plays in an attacking midfield role just behind the main forward. The youngster has 9 caps with France U17s, scoring once in the process, and one cap with the U16s. At the age of just 16, he had already played 7 games of the reserve team on top of his matches with the U19s. This season, Lens boss Antoine Kombouaré, in charge of the first team, called him up the the first team squad in the 33rd game of the Ligue 1 season against Metz. He sadly did not feature during the match.

If the qualities of both of these youngsters is undeniable, nobody can predict their futures. The two players will join the famous English club on a three season deal and should, if all goes well, soon become a part of the Arsenal U21s. A truly fantastic creator of young footballing talent, the funds that RC Lens gain from these two transfer should help them to refill the coffers.

On the other hand, RC Lens are letting two of their most promising talents go before the fans even get to see them in action. A sad reality of the times.

[Arsenal Tone]

I thought he looked out of his depth in the first half and got better second half. Not sure where all this hype has come from. I thought Iwobi looked more composed on the Saturday.

[Trequartista]

How tall is he, does anyone know? He looked pretty lanky to me. I would think he's at least 5, 11" or 6 foot.

[gooney]

I thought he looked out of his depth in the first half and got better second half. Not sure where all this hype has come from. I thought Iwobi looked more composed on the Saturday.

I thought he looked by far the most talented kid in pre season. He had the ability to create and beat players om his own. At 17 just to come over France and play like he did for the first team was mighty impressive. The other youngster had advantage over him because they know the style we play with while he did alot of his good work on his own.