French league leaders Lyon have signed teenage hot property Gnaly Maxwel Cornet from Metz.
Cornet, 18, moves with immediate effect to the Ligue 1 front-runners and has signed a four-and-a-half-year deal, Metz announced on their official website.
#Transfert Maxwel #Cornet quitte le #FCMetz six mois avant la fin de son contrat http://t.co/G7NhEz5n3M pic.twitter.com/Hwm6KMBHMo
- FC Metz Officiel (@FCMetz_officiel) January 16, 2015
The forward has been out of favour with Metz this season, having told club officials in the summer he would not be renewing his contract that was due to expire at the end of the current campaign.
He played 16 matches in last season's Ligue 2 promotion campaign and has been a staple of France age-group national teams up to under-19 level.
Cornet, born in the Ivory Coast, joined Metz as a seven-year-old and signed professional terms aged 16.
The north-east club stated on Friday: "Developed at the club from his very young age, Maxwel Cornet is leaving FC Metz. The young attacker has signed with Lyon for four-and-a-half years."