Hugo Ekitike was not rewarded for his blistering start to his Liverpool career with a call-up to the France squad today – but Marseille outcast Adrien Rabiot was included.
Ekitike has scored in each of Liverpool’s first two Premier League games, after opening his Reds account in the Community Shield, but has been unable to persuade France boss Didier Deschamps he was worth a spot in the squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Iceland.
The 23-year-old, who moved to Anfield over the summer from Eintracht Frankfurt, has enjoyed a strong run of form for the France Under-21 team over the past 12 months but his latest snub may persuade him to switch allegiance as he is also eligible to play for Cameroon.
Deschamps said: “You might see him a bit more now because he’s at Liverpool, but we also followed him when he was at Frankfurt where he had a very good season.
“The fact that he is at Liverpool and continues to perform well is great. But then there’s also competition for his position. Obviously, he has the potential to play for France.”
Rabiot included despite Marseille exile
Midfielder Rabiot was part of the squad announced, today, however, despite being transfer listed by Marseille following a dressing room altercation with then team-mate Jonathan Rowe after the 1-0 defeat at Rennes in their opening Ligue 1 fixture on August 15.
Rowe, who was also told he could leave the Stade Velodrome, has since joined Bologna but Rabiot remains in limbo at Marseille ahead of Monday’s transfer deadline.
Deschamps said: “I have spoken to Adrien several times. I won’t go into details, [but] he did his preparation, his first game, what happened happened.
“Obviously, this is not an easy situation for him. I don’t know what will happen by Monday when he joins us, but on Monday his situation will be clear. These are not easy things to manage, with the media scale. I care about Adrien in relation to what he is, what he has done with us, what he is still able to bring us. It’s always good that he can be with us.“
Monaco forward Maghnes Akliouche was handed his first call-up.
France squad
The France squad is: Lucas Chevalier (PSG), Mike Maignan (AC Milan), Brice Samba (Rennes); Lucas Digne (Aston Villa), Malo Gusto (Chelsea), Lucas Hernandez (PSG), Theo Hernandez (Al Hilal), Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool), Jules Kounde (Barcelona), William Saliba (Arsenal), Dayot Upamecano (Bayern Munich); Desire Doue (PSG), Manu Kone (Roma), Adrien Rabiot (Marseille), Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid), Khephren Thuram (Juventus); Maghnes Akliouche (Monaco), Bradley Barcola (PSG), Rayan Cherki (Manchester City), Ousmane Dembele (PSG), Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid), Michael Olise (Bayern Munich), Marcus Thuram (Inter Milan)
