CHRIS SUTTON may just have struck gold thanks to his friendship with former Celtic team-mate Didier Agathe.

If the signing of Adifane Noussoura, from Agathe's Reunion Island football academy – in the Indian Ocean – comes off then the Imps could be in line to make a very tidy profit from a potential sale.

Noussoura could be a special talent with the potential to be polished from a rough diamond into an absolute gem.

Sutton obviously has seen enough to think that could be the case while Agathe, speaking from his small base on the French colony, also waxes lyrical about the 17-year old.

Speaking exclusively to the Lincolnshire Echo from his small office in Reunion Island, the former Celtic and Aston Villa wing back revealed his pride in making the move happen for the youngster, who lives in Mayotte, which is an archipelago located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean.

"Adifane is a young player with lots of potential and he is the first player from Mayotte to sign for a professional club through my academy," said the 35-year-old, who insists he is not an agent and in football for the money.

"Football has been good to me and I wanted to give something back through my academy.

"It made me very proud to select Adifane for Lincoln City. Chris (Sutton) saw him play for one month and has now decided to sign him and that has made me very happy."

Agathe himself was born on Reunion Island which is populated by about 800,000 people and is one of the 26 regions of France.

He made his name for Montpellier in France but it was at Raith Rovers, Hibs and Celtic in Scotland and then Aston Villa where he came to prominence with British football fans as a speedy wing back.

"Adifane will be having a similar experience to me, although I moved to Scotland and the accent was more difficult to understand there!" said the UEFA Cup runner-up.

"The good thing is that he likes to learn but in the last three weeks he was a bit worried as he had not earned a deal.

"Now he has, he is free to play his football and this is a very good opportunity for him, for sure. He is very lucky."

Lincoln first linked up with Agathe's academy over the summer when first team coach Scott Lindsey jetted out to have a look at what was on offer.

As a result, back came Noussoura and his academy colleagues Uldric Samaria and Rémy Lauret and they trained with the Imps over the summer in an attempt to win a contract.

A fourth trialist, centre half Ali Djimali, came over a few weeks later and Sutton is poised to make a decision on his future imminently.

But it is Noussoura who has impressed in training, reserve games and in the pre-season game at Staines.

He is tall, gangly figure with a good touch, who is not afraid to get stuck in to a challenge.

"For me, at the moment Adifane is a sitting midfielder with a good touch, who is two-footed," explained Agathe.

"He can improve a lot and if he keeps working hard in the next six months, he should become a very good player, but he still has a lot to learn.

"At my academy, he was always the first to arrive to training and the last to leave.

Noussoura is the fifth player from Agathe's academy, which was set up in 2007, to have made the grade with a club in Britain.

He joins Kilmarnock's William Gros and Stirling Albion trio Jerome Heeking, Yohan Mathis and Jeremy Judith and Agathe's dream is that more will follow.

Two more players, meanwhile, are set for a trial spell and a chance for a dream move to Celtic.

"If I can help clubs like Celtic and Lincoln City that would be great," said Agathe, who played with Kilmarnock manager Mixu Paatelainen at Hibs.

"The quality is there and a lot of football teams are interested to take a look as my academy has very good players from Madagascar, Mauritius and other places.

"Clubs are tapping into the talent in Asia and Africa and this is a new market in which they can look.

"Being from a French colony, there is no problems with work permits and playing abroad.

"My dream is for teams to come to my academy and take players back who can adapt to British football."