Can we really believe Didier Deschamps when he ensures all smiles at the microphone of TF1 and M6 that "it is not his role to make surprises"?
Not a certainty with regard to the list of 26 players for the Euro that the coach of the France team unveiled this Tuesday evening.
Besides "the earthquake" Karim Benzema, back in blue after five years of absence, another unexpected summons slipped into the list: that of Jules Koundé, central defender of Sevilla FC, current 4th in Liga, behind the inevitable Atlético Madrid, Real and FC Barcelona.
At 22, the native of Paris is the 97th player called up by Didier Deschamps for selection.
He will above all be one of the youngest in the tricolor jersey this summer at the Euro since, born on November 12, 1998, he only returns a short month and ten days to Kylian Mbappé, the youngest of the France team. .
But if he is undoubtedly one of the least known to the general public in this list of 26 players, he is on the other hand very far from being the least talented.
VIDEO.
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Trained at the Girondins de Bordeaux, the native of Paris has continued to climb the ranks at high speed since his birth in Gironde. Champions of France with the U19 team - of which he is the captain - in 2017, he made his Ligue 1 debut in January 2018, just a few months after signing his first professional contract. He will only make a quick stopover in the French championship. In July 2019, Bordeaux let him go to Sevilla FC in exchange for 25 million euros. The good deal for the Andalusian club.
Two years later, the value of the Franco Beninese currency skyrocketed.
And for good reason.
Now estimated at 65 million euros, the Sevillian is followed by all the major European clubs.
In Spain, he caught the eye of the whole La Liga, starting with Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, sensitive to his meteoric rise, comparable to that of Clément Lenglet after his arrival in Spain from Nancy.
A "dazzling" progression
One reason why Sylvain Ripoll, the coach of the Espoirs, has made it the keystone of his defense.
“At one point, quite logically, I told myself that it was not possible to do without his qualities, explained the Hopes technician to L'Équipe.
He knows a meteoric progression.
What impresses is the regularity and reliability of its services.
"
Read also Karim Benzema in Blue: behind the scenes of an improbable return
How to make another observation?
With the exception of his isolation in October 2020 due to the Covid, Koundé has only been absent from the Andalusian group once this season.
At 22, he is one of the pillars of the 4th in Liga.
With 48 games on the clock (four goals and one assist) he is the second most used player in the squad.
Pep Guardiola did not wait to have all his figures in front of him to make him lighthouse calls.
This winter, Manchester City was even ready to break the bank (
Editor's note: € 55 million
) to attract him to England. But the future finalist of the Champions League has met a categorical refusal from Sevilla. “I had Pep Guardiola on the phone, then confirmed Koundé. I was interested. It was a great opportunity. I had guarantees, it was to play. But it did not happen. "
Failing to have missed the car of the Blues, Koundé did not however miss that of the Blues. Left at the disposal of the Hopes in March to participate in the first phase of Euro U21, Koundé will not participate in the final phase, scheduled in Hungary and Slovenia from May 31 to June 6. “Sylvain (Ripoll) knows it. The A became priority over our Euro ", announced Didier Deschamps to explain his" promotion "to the A." We have been following him for a while, continued the coach. He's had a good season with Sevilla. It has the advantage of being versatile. He can play in an axial position and I also saw him very good at the right-back position with Sevilla FC. In short, in the eyes of the coach, Koundé ticks all the boxes. The last one remains to be completed: that of European champion.
