Norwich City are among the clubs monitoring the potential availability of young Paris Saint-Germain defender Loic Mbe Soh, according to respected French newspaper L’Equipe.

The France Under-19 centre-back, who was born in Cameroon, will reportedly leave the French giants this summer as he has entered the final 12 months of his contract.

The report claims the Canaries and Championship rivals Middlesbrough have shown interest in the youngster, stating that Le Havre have previously been keen and that Spanish sides Cadiz and Mallorca are also interested.

Mbe Soh is alongside Canaries defender Max Aarons in being included on the long list for the prestigious Golden Boy award this year, which is voted for by respected journalists across Europe, to decide the best top-flight player under the age of 21.

The 19-year-old captained PSG’s under-19s in the group stages of the Uefa Youth League last season but only made one senior appearance, playing the opening hour of a rare defeat in Ligue Un last September, playing at right-back during a 2-0 defeat at Stade Reims for the eventual champions.

He was also an unused substitute during four games for the super-rich Parisians, having joined their academy system at 12 years old. He has captained France throughout his youth levels and led PSG’s U17s to a league title in 2017, eventually earning a three-year contract in 2018.

With a reputation for being composed in possession and a good passer, Mbe Soh made his senior debut at 17 for PSG at the end of the 2018-19 season, playing all of a 2-1 win at Angers and a 4-0 home win over Dijon, playing both league games in central defence.

He also recently played the second half of a 4-0 friendly win over Scottish champions Celtic but L’Equipe claim his future lies away from the Parc des Princes.

VERDICT: It seems unlikely that a player nominated for the Golden Boy would consider a move to the Championship, as illustrated by the amount of high-level links to City right-back Aarons following relegation.

Losing that Premier League status could well be the crux of this tale, as Mbe Soh looks to be just the calibre of young player that the Canaries would have been targeting had they managed to retain their top-flight status.

However, if a player with impressive youth credentials gave the Canaries a chance he could well be tempted by the prospect of genuine first-team opportunities at a club which has produced U21 internationals with big reputations in recent years in Aarons, Todd Cantwell, Ben Godfrey and Adam Idah, with Jamal Lewis a fully fledged senior international with Northern Ireland already.

Norwich were linked with another PSG youngster said to be leaving the club earlier this year but the latest reports in France suggest striker Alexendre Fressange is set to sign a new contract before heading out for loan experience.

The Canaries gave U23 defender Akin Famewo his debut at the end of last season, following a successful loan at St Mirren, and have another young centre-back option out on loan in Belgium U21 international Rocky Bushiri, who is set to spend the season back home in Belgium with KV Mechelen.