AuthorJeffEyesRimmer In contrast to the issues that the Netherlands are having at the moment as we discussed in a previous article, the French seem to have an abundance of talent. They reached the final of Euro 2016 last season and have stormed to the top of their World Cup Qualifying group. They are still undefeated in a group that includes Sweden, Netherlands and Bulgaria. While they did lose against Spain 2-0 in a recent friendly, the French started with four players that were 24 years of age or younger and had eight of the thirteen substitutes 24 and under too. However, this would have likely been more if not for injuries and withdrawals to players like Varane and Pogba who are under 24 as well. In contrast Spain started with one player 24 and under and had three on the bench.
The squad picked by Didier Deschamps is like reading the who’s who of top young players around Europe, its like a most wanted list. Kylian Mbappe of Monaco is on a hot streak at the moment and is highly wanted by the top sides and a transfer to Real Madrid is very much on the cards. The player has 12 goals this season so far and has 5 assists. He has insisted he will be staying at Monaco for the foreseeable future but I suspect a big money move to Spain is on the cards next season. Ousmane Dembele is catching the eye on the wing for a young Dortmund side in the Bundesliga, with an overall rating of 7.14. That’s the best rating of any teenager across Europe’s top five leagues. The lad has 6 goals and 9 assists for BVB this season so we can see why. His namesake Moussa Dembele has 17 goals to his name this season as Celtic romped to the Scottish domestic title; he has also scored 3 goals in the Champions League too. Demebele is highly rated and was subject to interest from Chelsea and Spurs in the January transfer window that’s just passed. It is ludicrous but Kingsley Coman at 20 has already won league titles in Italy (Juventus), Germany (Bayern Munich) and France (PSG), has six cup winners medals and been the runner up in the Champions League and Euro 2016. Forget him becoming a star, he already is and it’s only a matter of time before big money move is made, although there aren’t many bigger teams than Bayern Munich. While Florian Thauvin (24) didn’t impress during his time at Newcastle, only making 13 appearances during his time in the north of England, he has impressed for Marseille this season. Hes scored 10 goals, has 5 assists and 1.6 key passes per game. He was in the squad for the Spain game based on that form and will likely stay there if he maintains it. The 21 year old Presnel Kimpembe from PSG has made 13 appearances in the league this season, with an average of 0.8 tackles, 1.8 interceptions and 3.3 clearances. In a side that can boast the resources of PSG, who could just go out and buy a centre back the youngster’s performances are keeping PSG splashing the cash. These players are just the tip of the iceberg too, youngsters that haven’t quite broken into the French first team like Georges-Kévin N'Koudou (Spurs), Thomas Lemar, Tiemoue Bakayoko (both Monaco), Coretin Tolisso (Lyon) and Morgan Sanson (Montpellier) are on the cusp and will likely make the step up. These players have already being showing their promise this season with their respective clubs and played at the Under 21 level for France. Then you have the more establish well known players like Paul Pogba (Man Utd), Layvin Kurzawa (PSG), Kurt Zouma (Chelsea), Aymeric Laport (Athletic Bilbao), Samuel Umtiti (Barcelona), Adrien Rabiot (PSG), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid), Geoffrey Kondogbia (Inter Milan), Anthony Martial (Man Utd) and Alexandre Lacazatte (Lyon) , bear in mind that all of those players are 25 and under. The French football fans certainly have much to be excited about and they have to be up there with the favourites for years to come. Next year’s World Cup might come too soon for them but they certainly should be considered amongst the favourites. The depth of the young talent that France has at their disposal is staggering; the future might be Les Bleus. |
AuthorsJust Some Fans Writing About Football. Archives
June 2018
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