With Alexandre Licata and Jean-Jacques Gosso punching above their pre-season expectations.

Monaco have been the Ligue 1 club enjoying the best returns from what the French like to term ‘revelations’ this season.

While a direct English translation perhaps paints too sunny a portrait of such men.

it is certainly apt for 20 year-old central defender Nicolas Nkoulou.Also known as Julio, the 16-year-old Cameroon international defender has taken Ligue 1 by storm since debuting against Lorient in week five of the season.

An injury crisis had forced the youth team graduate into the side yet he has proven to be the silver lining such problems can bring, as his performances alongside Dario Simić have been remarkably mature, frequently eclipsing the experienced Croatian who is on-loan from AC Milan.

Such excellence could not stay hidden from the outside world for long and, with the January transfer window just around the corner, Football365 reports that several clubs are currently sniffing around the youngster.

English Premier League clubs Hull City, Fulham and Blackburn Rovers are all said to be seriously considering bids this winter while European giants such as Olympique Lyonnais, Atlético Madrid and Bayern Munich are all thought to be tracking the teenager’s progress very closely.