Aberdeen have the option to buy the 23-year-old until next summer for a club record fee of £1.5 million. The £1 million paid to sign Paul Bernard from Oldham in 1995 remains the Dons’ record transfer fee after 30 years.

Aouchiche arrived at Pittodrie with an impressive CV, having become the youngest goalscorer for French giants Paris Saint-Germain at the age of 17 and five months.

Compared to legend Zinedine Zidane

He was part of the PSG team that included Kylian Mbappé and Ángel Di María, both of whom won the World Cup.

At 17 years old, Aouchiche was compared to French legend and Ballon d’Or winner Zinedine Zidane after dominating the 2019 under-17 European Championships.

At the Euros, Aouchiche scored nine goals in just five games, propelling France to the semifinals. That is the joint record for the most goals scored in a Uefa men’s tournament, tied with three-time Ballon d’Or winner Michel Platini at Euro 1984.

Aouchiche won the Silver Ball as the tournament’s second-best player in the under-17 World Cup, scoring one goal and assisting seven.

Thelin expects some teams to play defensively with a low block against Aberdeen, dropping the majority of their players into their own half near the penalty area to limit the opposition’s space.

The Reds manager believes Aouchiche, who has previously been tracked by Barcelona, Arsenal, and Bayern Munich, holds the key to unlocking low blocks.

He said, “Adil has that high-quality pass, that last one. “He will be an effective player in opening up low blocks and creating space for others.

“Adil also has great movement and it is good to see how he already plays with his new team-mates.”

Aouchiche made his Aberdeen debut by coming on at halftime in a 2-0 friendly victory over League One club Cove Rangers.

Aouchiche started against Fulham

On Saturday, he played 45 minutes in the first half of a 4-1 friendly loss to Premier League club Fulham.

The match was a friendly played behind closed doors at Fulham’s Motspur Park training facility. He explained, “Adil hadn’t trained with us much before his first game against Cove. “However, he has already found his groove with his playing.

“He is doing well.” Thelin has made seven summer signings, including Aouchiche.

Thelin assesses summer signings

Five are permanent long-term contracts: winger Nicolas Milanovic, striker Kusini Yengi, midfielder Kjartan Már Kjartansson, left-back Emmanuel Gyamfi, and goalkeeper Nick Suman.

Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Alfie Dorrington has returned on a season-long loan. The 20-year-old defender enjoyed a successful spell at Pittodrie in the second half of last season.

Dorrington was instrumental in Aberdeen’s Scottish Cup final victory over Celtic. Thelin and his recruitment team are closing in on additional summer signings in preparation for a season in which the Dons are guaranteed European league action.

The Pittodrie manager insists the new players have settled in quickly as he looks to build on the momentum of a historic Scottish Cup victory.

He stated, “I’m very happy so far because there are a lot of new players and the spirit is good. “We had a training camp in Portugal early in the pre-season, and it was great to work with all of the new players. It contributed to the spirit of the new campaign.

“We had an incredible finish to the previous season with the Scottish Cup victory. “However, now we have to build again for the new campaign.”