The 19-year-old playmaker is enjoying a brilliant debut campaign in Ligue 1 and has received high praise from the most esteemed Frenchman of all
Sunday’s 2-1 win over Nice helped to confirm Maxime Lopez as the new ‘Petit Prince’ of Marseille’s Stade Velodrome.
Unlike many of France’s top sides, OM do not have a great reputation of bringing players through their youth ranks, although it should be remembered that the Ayew brothers, Andre and Jordan, both graduated from La Commanderie.
It is, however, Samir Nasri who is undoubtedly their most successful alumnus in recent years. And it is the former Arsenal and Manchester City star that Lopez was most readily compared to when he broke into the Marseille starting XI with the arrival of head coach Rudi Garcia in the autumn.