Liverpool target gets first France call-up

Jacque Talbot

• 16 Mar 2023 19:05 GMT
• 3 min read

Khephren Thuram has been called up by France manager Didier Deschamps for upcoming European Championship qualifiers against the Netherlands and Ireland. The Nice midfielder is a target of Liverpool, and even Newcastle had looked at him last summer.

The Frenchman is set for a move away from his current side in the summer, we are told.

The Reds had looked over the January window but ultimately decided not to make the move. Thuram has been something of a revelation this season - considered one of the best-performing central midfielders in the French league.

The 21-year-old midfielder stands at 6 feet 3 inches tall and is a product of the Monaco academy. Under Christophe Galtier, when the current Paris Saint-Germain boss was with Nice last season, Thuram played the centre of a 4-4-2. It’s there that the star really stood out with his press resistance and ball recovery. And though he has a large frame, Thuram is a capable dribbler and has been one of the key components of Nice’s attack this season, heavily involved in the build-up play and even operating in the final third.

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He will enter a France side that lost the 2022 World Cup final on penalty kicks following a 3-3 draw with Argentina. Hugo Lloris and central defender Raphael Varane, who both won the World Cup in 2018, have retired after the tournament in Qatar. Elsewhere, Lens goalkeeper Brice Samba and Chelsea centre-back Wesley Fofana were called up to Les Bleus for the first time.

France squad in full

Goalkeepers: Alphonse Areola (West Ham United/ENG), Mike Maignan (AC Milan/ITA), Brice Samba (Lens)

Defenders: Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid), Wesley Fofana (Chelsea), Theo Hernandez (AC Milan), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona/ESP), Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders: Youssouf Fofana (Monaco), Adrien Rabiot (Juventus), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Khephren Thuram (Nice), Jordan Veretout (Marseille)

Forwards: Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Moussa Diaby (Bayer Leverkusen), Olivier Giroud (AC Milan), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) Randal Kolo Muani (Eintracht Frankfurt), Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain), Marcus Thuram (Borussia Moenchengladbach)