France boss Didier Deschamps confirms Milan‘s Mike Maignan will replace Hugo Lloris becoming Les Blues’ starting goalkeeper after the Tottenham star announced his international retirement.

Maignan will become France’s starting goalkeeper from the March break, Deschamps confirmed at a press conference on Monday.

“The No.1 role obviously goes to Mike Maignan. Hierarchy is important,” said the ex-Juventus midfielder. 

“But I will also discuss it with others. There will be a hierarchy for this gathering but it may also be different for the next one in June. International experience can be an additional asset for the second and third-choice keeper.”

Serie A stars Adrien Rabiot and Olivier Giroud have also been called up for games against the Netherlands and Ireland.

Giroud became France’s all-time leading scorer during the World Cup in Qatar and could start on Friday against the Dutch, said Deschamps.

“When I took him to the World Cup, questions were raised, but it changed during the competition. Olivier is part of the 23-man squad there are 11 who will start against the Netherlands. They are all fit to start.”

Giroud was suspended on Saturday when Milan suffered a 3-1 loss against Udinese at the Dacia Arena. He has scored 12 goals in 34 appearances with the Rossoneri this term and will be available against Napoli after the break.

Rabiot is one of the most prolific centre midfielders in Serie A this season and has scored nine goals in 33 appearances across all competitions for Juventus.

“Adrien had already done a lot of very good things before the World Cup,” Deschamps admitted. 

“He arrived with very high-level performances and he remains as important as ever,” concluded Deschamps.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *