MARCUS THURAM

CLUB BORUSSIA MONCHENGLADBACH POSITION FORWARD

Value £20m Age 22 Foot Right Height 6ft 4in Nation France

THE STORY SO FAR: After starting out in the youth sectors of amateur clubs in Paris, Thuram – son of France’s 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 winner Lilian – joined the Sochaux academy at 14. He glided through the ranks in eastern France operating as a wide attacker or striker, and helped Les Lionceaux’s kids win the Coupe Gambardella – France’s equivalent of the FA Youth Cup – in May 2015. After bagging a brace in the 3-1 semi-final win over PSG, Thuram netted again in Sochaux’s 2-0 final victory over Lyon at the Stade de France.

He had already been handed a token debut for Sochaux’s first team in Ligue 2 by then, and made 36 appearances in France’s second tier across the following two seasons. Ligue 1’s Guingamp then chose to cough up a reported €600,000 (£425,000) for his services in July 2017. He stood out in a struggling (eventually relegated) side, impressing enough over two campaigns to convince Bundesliga outfit Borussia Monchengladbach that €12m (£10.8m) was a fee worth paying.

Thuram – a bundle of power and skill, with a languid running style that masks his nippy top speed – has thrived in Germany. He was a menace during Gladbach’s 2-1 win over Bayern Munich in December, winning the late, decisive penalty.

Having represented France 40 times from U17 to U21 level, he’s a contender for a place in Les Bleus’ Euro 2020 squad this summer. NICKNAME: ‘Tikus’, which hails from the word ‘Ti’ – meaning ‘small’ in the Antillean Creole language of Guadeloupe, where his family comes from – coupled with the second syllable of his first name. Together, that makes ‘Little Marcus’.

THEY SAID: “He is playing for a top team in Germany and making very good progress – even if his father wasn’t called Lilian Thuram, we would be keeping a close eye on him,” said France coach Didier Deschamps in November 2019.

HE SAID: “I used to play out wide as a youngster and at the start of my pro career... I love dribbling. At Guingamp last season they thought I didn’t pass enough, so now I’m looking to bring my team-mates into play a lot more.”

DID YOU KNOW? Thuram was born in Parma, Italy, and speaks fluent English.

LINKED WITH: Bayern Munich, who have a high-quality France contingent in the form of Benjamin Pavard (left), Lucas Hernandez, Corentin Tolisso and Kingsley Coman. PSG are monitoring his progress as they prepare for having to replace Kylian Mbappe in the future. James Eastham