L’Équipe are reporting that Lille OSC goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier (21) may be ahead of Leeds United’s Illan Meslier (23) in the goalkeeping pecking order for the France national team.
Since the retirement of Les Bleus captain Hugo Lloris at the end of the FIFA World Cup, the question of France’s next number one has been a pertinent one. It is expected that AC Milan’s Mike Maignan will inherit the number one jersey from Lloris. Alphonse Areola is expected to feature in Didier Deschamps’ next squad, which is set to be announced on Thursday, whilst Brice Samba and Alban Lafont will fight it out for the third spot.
Currently, it is thought that ex-Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Samba, who currently plays for Lens, is in the driving seat to take the position.
However, in the long term, L’Équipe report that Chevalier and Meslier will be battling it out to become France’s number one. Meslier, who plays his club football for Leeds, is expected to be called up to the France U21 side.
In the future, he is expected to compete with Lille’s Chevalier, whilst the latter reportedly has extra credit in the bank with Deschamps, according to L’Équipe. His performances with Les Dogues this season have had an effect on Deschamps, who has been following his progress closely.
GFFN | Luke Entwistle
