has been making waves in the football world with his impressive performances for Nice in Ligue 1.
The Frenchman has been linked with Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain in recent days, while we revealed recently that Liverpool even had talks with the youngster.
The 22-year-old central midfielder operates as a ball-playing No.6 who makes progressive carries in abundance. Despite his towering frame, Thuram is able to forge opportunities owing to his nimble feet inside the box.
You might recognise the name, and not just because of the amount of transfer speculation around him right now. Khephren is the son of Lilian Thuram, the legendary French defender, and the younger brother of attacker Marcus Thuram, who plays for Borussia Monchengladbach.
This particular Thuram was born in 2001 in Parma, while his father was still playing in Serie A. He made his first-team debut for Monaco in August 2019 at the age of 18.
Known for his physicality, composure on the ball and ability to read the game, compounded with his spellbinding quick feet and dribbling ability, many clubs have registered an interest in the player, who is set to leave Nice in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Thuram's breakthrough season came in the 2020-21 campaign, where he established himself as a regular in the Monaco team and helped them finish third in the Ligue 1 standings.
In that season he made 25 league appearances, scoring two goals and providing one assist.
His performances earned him a call-up to the French Under-21 team, where he has already made five appearances, while he was given an opportunity with the France first team last month.
Thuram is a dynamic and direct deep-lying midfielder, who can also play in a more advanced role on the left of a midfield three. He shares both physical and playing style similarities with Paul Pogba, but arguably has a bit more of a competitive streak.
In terms of his eventual destination though he has no fixed ideas, preferring to concentrate instead on his own growth and performance. This was highlighted in a recent interview with The Telegraph.
“As a man, as a football player. I don’t know exactly where that is going to take me but I want to be the best version of myself. If that is to play somewhere my whole life then fine. If it is to play at one of the top clubs then I want to achieve that,” he explained.
Though Thuram has played down talk of a move right now, the vibes are that this is not the case. His departure from Nice at the end of this season is highly likely.
Khephren is a fluent speaker of Italian, French, and English, while he has a considered and affable personality and would be able to blend into any dressing room quite easily.
At such a young age, and with the versatility that every club dreams about in the modern era, you can see why a whole host of clubs are queuing up to sign him right now.
Indeed, everything points to another great footballing Thuram - and not just because of his famous surname. If he proves half as good as his illustrious father, the world should take notice.