FRANCE have made it to the final in three of the last four major international tournaments, with their World Cup triumph in 2018 being their crowning glory of recent times.
With a squad rich in talent and depth, it’s generally expected that Les Bleus are serious contenders on the big stage and Euro 2024 is no different.
Most bookies have Didier Deschamps’ side as close second favourites (behind England) this summer and Dream Team Euros managers will therefore be hopeful of bountiful points from their players – but who to select?
Here we detail their top stars, bargain options and players to avoid.
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TOP STARS
Let’s not pretend Kylian Mbappe (£7.5m) is anything other than the standout superstar in the player list.
The electric forward is in the prime of his career at 25 years old and heads to Germany having plundered 44 goals from 48 games in his farewell season at PSG.
He claimed the Golden Boot at the last World Cup with a dramatic hat-trick in the final and he’s scored a further ten goals in 11 appearances since then having been awarded the captain’s armband.
Mbappe is the joint-most expensive player in the game but that hasn’t put gaffers off as he’s currently the only player who features in the majority of teams created (54.5% ownership).
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No defender costs more than Theo Hernandez (£5m) in our Euros fantasy game, which is a reflection of both France’s overall prospects and his individual quality .
Only Portugal conceded fewer goals in qualifying than France and the 26-year-old played the full 90 minutes in all eight fixtures.
The Milan left-back contributed five goals and 11 assists at club level in 2023/24 and many Dream Team bosses will remember his attacking contributions at the most recent World Cup – he even scored in the semi-final.
Antoine Griezmann (£6.5m) is arguably the player most emblematic of the Deschamps era and somebody who always seems to save his best form for major tournaments.
The 33-year-old generally played as a striker for Atletico Madrid this season but he’s operated in a deeper role at international level for quite a while now, hence why we’ve categorised him as a midfielder.
Naturally, he doesn’t score as many goals as he used to for France (just two in his last 26 caps) but he does pretty much everything else – it wouldn’t be a surprise if he earned more than his fair share of bonus points.
BARGAIN OPTIONS
Such is France’s strength and depth, none of their players are priced below £3million and so there’s no outright bargain in the truest sense but there are some value-for-money options to mull over.
Some gaffers may be surprised to learn that Adrien Rabiot (£3.5m) is now considered among Deschamps’ favourites and he is expected to get plenty of minutes in Germany.
In terms of ability-to-cost ratio, Eduardo Camavinga (£3.5m) has to considered decent value in the mid range, especially with Real Madrid team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni (£3.5m) an injury doubt.
The 21-year-old offers minimal attacking threat but it’s feasible he could tick over at a respectable rate through tackles and bonus points.
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One other thing to keep an eye on is the possibility of Marcus Thuram (£4m) usurping Olivier Giroud (£4.5m) to become first-choice striker.
The 26-year-old contributed 29 goal involvements to Inter’s successful campaign and he’s featured in each of France’s last eight games in some capacity.
Both Griezmann and Mbappe like to play with Giroud but the experienced target man is 37 years old and the last time he played 90 minutes at international level was against England in the World Cup quarter-final.
It’s not unthinkable Thuram might jump up the pecking order, in which case his price tag of £4m would suddenly look very affordable.
PLAYERS TO AVOID
As we’ve made clear, France boast a strong squad and so there aren’t any perilous trapdoors that need signposting.
However, Ousmane Dembele’s (£4.5m) ownership of 10.2% feels rather high.
The two-footed winger is capable of delivering massive returns if everything clicks but he can be frustrating player to watch at times – a return of three league goals this season for a player in his position at PSG is underwhelming.
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He’s not assured of substantial minutes either as Kingsley Coman (£4.5m) and Randal Kolo Muani (£4m) are competitive options on the right wing.
Elsewhere, 8.8% of Dream Team bosses have picked Benjamin Pavard (£3.5m) at the time of writing but the defender isn’t the lock he once was under Deschamps – he started just two of the qualifiers.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
