Le Parisien report that OGC Nice’s 21-year-old box-to-box midfielder Khéphren Thuram is set to be rewarded for his fantastic Ligue 1 form with a 1st call-up to the French national team squad when Didier Deschamps announces his list on Thursday for EURO 2024 qualification games against Ireland and The Netherlands.
The majority of midfield players that came along for the 2022 World Cup adventure in Qatar are expected to feature, including: Juventus’ Adrien Rabiot, Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana, Real Madrid’s Aurélien Tchouaméni and his club team-mate Eduardo Camavinga. However, the ex-Rennes man is expected to be used as a second left-back, as previously reported.
Jordan Veretout, despite his disappointing showing at the World Cup, is expected to be awarded a place in the squad but his teammate at Marseille, Mattéo Guendouzi, is set to miss out owing to a recent drop in form at club level.
Historical stalwarts N’Golo Kanté (Chelsea) and Paul Pogba (Juventus) continue to suffer with fitness problems and will not be involved during the March international break. Aston Villa’s defensive midfielder Boubacar Kamara was scouted by France assistant manager Guy Stéphan on 18th February but will miss out owing to an ankle injury.
As a result of these fitness challenges, there is a free slot in the France midfield. Le Parisien claim that as of Wednesday night, 3 individuals were being considered to fill it: Manu Koné (Gladbach), Valentin Rongier (Marseille) and Khéphren Thuram (OGC Nice). The latter is the favourite the clinch a spot, with the announcement occurring in just hours time.
James Thorpe | GFFN
