Manchester City could soon add Saint-Etienne to their list of partner clubs after being impressed by the Ligue 1 side's ability to help talented youngsters flourish.
Chelsea centre-back Kurt Zouma, Wolfsburg's France international midfielder Joshua Guilavogui, Napoli full-back Faouzi Ghoulam and reported Arsenal target Allan Saint-Maximin have all come through the Saint-Etienne youth academy.
Having already established close ties to New York City and Melbourne City, the Premier League champions' parent company, City Football Group, is now honing in on Saint-Etienne and their fruitful youth policy, according to Bernard Caiazzo, the president of Les Verts' oversight committee.
"In the last 18 months, which other club has produced so many first-choice players playing at a big club?" he asked L'Equipe, adding oversight committee vice-president and former Saint-Etienne great, Dominique Rocheteau, has already talked to City Football Group representatives.
"It's been four or five times now that Dominique has met them, it seems very serious. They are people who want to work in the long-term."
While City could benefit by being given first pick of Saint-Etienne's best talents, the Ligue 1 side would have the backing of City's wealthy owners, who could ensure they do not miss out on the opportunity to bring in a promising youngster.
"Unlike Monaco or Lyon, we don't pay for youngsters who are 13, 14, 15 years old," Caiazzo explained. "Once, we had an agreement with a kid, but Monaco came in and paid 200,000 euros and he went there. In the future, we can imagine that City would pay that money."