England lost 3-2 to 10-man France in an entertaining international friendly in Paris on Tuesday night.
Both teams featured players who have been heavily linked with moves away from their current clubs this summer so we’ve done our own scouting report on their performances
Below is three coveted stars for both France and England
FRANCE
BENJAMIN MENDY
Club:
Monaco
Clubs interested:
Man City, Man United, Liverpool and Chelsea
Manchester City are in prime position to sign the Monaco left-back with discussions over a £40million deal thought to be in progress.
Liverpool are also keeping tabs on the 22-year-old as they look to plug a gap filled by James Milner last season.
Mendy has emerged as one of Europe’s finest left-backs having signed from Marseille 12 months ago with his incessant energy married to a world-class deliver from the flank.
VERDICT
City fans hoping to get a closer look at Mendy have one of their own to blame for his lack of game time against England.
After a collision with winger Raheem Sterling, Mendy was forced off in the 20th minute having suffered a knee injury in a scene reminiscent to City star Gabriel Jesus being hurt by club team-mate Nicolas Otamendi as Brazil beat Argentina.
RATING: 5/10
KYLIAN MBAPPE
Club:
Monaco
Clubs interested:
Real Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, PSG
The Parc Des Princes no doubted needed a dedicated section solely for Europe’s top scouts on Tuesday night given the amount of teams chasing the 18-year-old’s signature.
Two clubs have reportedly made bids in excess of €100million for the Monaco frontman with Real Madrid and Man City chiefly among the clubs in the hunt.
Mbappe revealed after the 3-2 win over England that he would take a family vacation to mull over his next move while also Real had been trying to sign him since the age of 14.
VERDICT
Mbappe is the hottest prospect in world football right now and he lived up to that tag with another thrilling performance.
He lacked the composure to get on the scoresheet but his pace had England’s defence on edge and in retreat for much of the night.
His link up play with Paul Pogba and Ousmane Dembele was telepathic and a frightening prospect for future defences but if there was one noticeable criticism, the timing off his runs were a little off.
For a player so fast, he needs to learn to anticipate the last line better as a few occasions Pogba slipped him through beautifully only for the teenager to be flagged for offside.
Still, it was another deeply impressive outing and he rounded off his stratospheric season by finding Dembele for the third goal.
RATING: 8/10
THOMAS LEMAR
Club:
Monaco
Clubs interested:
Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea, PSG
Another promising talent from France’s youthful contingent, another Monaco man at the heart of their renaissance last season.
Lemar is thought to be central to Arsene Wenger’s transfer plans this summer with Arsenal reportedly working on deals for the winger and national team-mates Alexandre Lacazette and Mbappe, although North London rivals Spurs are also heavily pursuing the 21-year-old.
A £25million release clause has been suggested for the man to chiefly support Mbappe for the Principality side’s successful assault on the Ligue 1 title.
VERDICT
Lemar was much quieter than Mbappe on Tuesday night but regardless it was abundantly clear that he is a classy operator.
As he has done with Monaco all season, he drifted in from the left to try and link up with Olivier Giroud and Mbappe, making five key passes but England right-back Kieran Trippier was largely untroubled.
Still, he kept France ticking over with his neat passing ability and was always an outlet on the left touchline.
RATING: 7/10
ENGLAND
Club:
Arsenal
Clubs interested:
Liverpool
The Arsenal attacker is entering the final 12 months of his contract at the Emirates Stadium and Jurgen Klopp is a known admirer of the 23-year-old.
He is in contract negotiations and the inclination is he will put to pen paper on a new deal despite the Reds willingness to part with £40million to persuade him to swap London for Merseyside.
Concerns about his development at the Gunners could still sway him towards working under Klopp and his performances for England suggest there is plenty of room for improvement.
VERDICT
England struggled to get on the ball in the first half and Oxlade-Chamberlain in particular was fallible.
He was deployed in centre midfield but his pass accuracy would suggest he’s not suited to the position as according to Opta, he played just 18 passes and only found a fellow England shirt with 61.6 percent of them in the opening 45.
There is an insistence that he can play in midfield but it’s clear that with his physical attributes he is far more effective out wide.
RATING: 5/10
KYLE WALKER
Club:
Tottenham
Clubs interested:
Man City and Barcelona
Pep Guardiola will open talks with the Tottenham full-back this week as he looks to bolster his backline.
Negotiations are to begin when he returns from national duty with a £40million the anticipated transfer fee.
The right-back fell out of favour with Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino toward the end of last season and is expected to be replaced by £20million-rated Porto wing-back Ricardo Pereira
VERDICT
England struggled to contain France’s frightening attack on Tuesday night and one instance encapsulated that as Walker was blitzed by Ousmane Dembele.
The 27-year-old is, to his credit, one of the fastest players in the Premier League but the second-half substitute will want to forget the one v one with Dembele as the Frenchman destroyed him after knocking the ball past the full-back inside his own half.
Overall, though, a solid display especially considering he entered the fray at half time in the left-back spot.
RATING: 6/10
RYAN BERTRAND
Club:
Southampton
Clubs interested:
Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea
Liverpool, Chelsea and City are all in the market for a left-back this summer and one of the most highly-rated is Bertrand.
With rumours City have hit a brick wall in their bid to sign Benjamin Mendy, the Saints defender has emerged as their next target.
Guardiola is in desperate need of replenishing his full-back stock having released Gael Clichy earlier this summer.
VERDICT
The former Chelsea defender appears to have made the England left-back position his own with Gareth Southgate favouring the 27-year-old since taking the reins.
As the Three Lions switched to a three-man defence, Bertrand slotted into a wing-back position and initially it paid off.
His overlapping run was spotted by Raheem Sterling and his low cross found Harry Kane for the game’s opener.
He was adventurous and a constant outlet on the left before he made way for Tottenham’s Walker.