France national team coach Didier Deschamps believes that Theo Hernandez does not have the same spark that he did two years ago, while he also spoke about some of Mike Maignan’s difficulties.
Deschamps gave an interview to La Gazzetta dello Sport in view of the upcoming European Championship, a tournament which France start as being among the favourites along with England, and he spoke about a couple of Milan players.
He started by discussing Theo Hernandez, a player that is the subject of a lot of speculation regarding a potential move to Bayern Munich or another top European club, and he revealed an interesting detail about the full-back.
“We talked about it in March. In general there isn’t the same enthusiasm as the Scudetto season, but it seemed to me that he was happy at Milan where he was also the captain, as a foreign player. However, organising a tour in Australia in full national team retreat, it’s not very nice,” he said.
Deschamps was also asked about Maignan who is widely regarded to have had a sub-par season by his usual very high standards. The France boss was asked if the incident of racial abuse in Udinese might have destabilised him.
“These are things that should never happen again. That episode hurt him, it wasn’t the first time. The mental factor can have repercussions on a physical level.
“But, it must be said that the previous season was extraordinary, so potentially there is no need to worry, even if he has been less well in the last period due to some small injuries.”
Finally, the 55-year-old was questioned on the idea of Inter’s Marcus Thuram inheriting the starting spot from Olivier Giroud, given he will retire from international football once Euro 2024 is done.
“Marcus had a good season with Inter, improving his effectiveness, in harmony with Lautaro Martinez. Marcus can play across the attack.
“He doesn’t have the same characteristics as Olivier, but he can be his heir. And even if it is the last European Championship for Giroud, it is important to count on his experience.”