Player Focus: Mathieu Deserving of a Place in Deschamps' Latest France Squad

With Barcelona unable to sign players until January 2016 due to an international transfer ban, the Blaugrana invested all the money they could in order to bring in new faces this summer. Luis Suarez, bought for £75m from Liverpool, was naturally the acquisition that grabbed the headlines. However, as any supporter could testify, a centre-back was essential. Javier Mascherano, a midfielder by trade, has performed above expectations since being converted to that role but, as his World Cup displays showed, the Argentine is better suited to the middle of the park. Gerard Piqué, meanwhile, has endured his fair share of injury problems, with Luis Enrique demanding defensive reinforcements be brought in.

Barcelona director of football Andoni Zubizarreta agreed with his manager, securing the signatures of Thomas Vermaelen and Jeremy Mathieu. While Vermaelen is yet to feature competitively for his new side, Mathieu has quickly become a key member of the Barca starting XI. As we head into the second international break of the season, Barcelona are the only team yet to concede a league goal of all 98 teams in Europe’s top 5 leagues this campaign.

Fellow summer arrival Claudio Bravo has deservedly won the adulation of his peers having not picked the ball out of his net in 630 minutes of Liga action this term, but Mathieu has played a crucial role in their defensive solidity. Some scoffed at the €20m Barcelona paid to secure the services of a 30-year-old defender, but the club are laughing last and loudest at present.

The Frenchman’s WhoScored rating (7.53) is the highest it has been in the last 6 La Liga seasons. Only 4 Barcelona regulars have a better rating than the defender, including lethal attacking duo Lionel Messi (8.72) and Neymar (7.65), further emphasising how good a start he has made to life at Camp Nou. As a result, Didier Deschamps called Mathieu up to his recent France squad as he looks to build on his 3 international caps, the third of which came in France’s 1-1 draw with Serbia last month and was only won after Laurent Koscielny withdrew from the squad due to injury.

His call up this time, though, is wholeheartedly deserved. The former Valencia star is averaging an impressive 65.2 passes per league this season and has maintained a highly commendable pass success rate (90%). Barcelona’s approach is to retain possession and build attacks from the back, with Mathieu adhering to the wishes of manager Enrique. Such displays have earned him the international recognition he deserves and some feel Mathieu has warranted a start in the upcoming friendly with Portugal at the heart of the backline.

However, that would not be a shock to French football aficionados. As proven at the 2014 World Cup, Deschamps prefers his players to build attacks from the back, which benefits the players at his disposal. Focusing on goalkeeper and captain Hugo Lloris, the Tottenham number 1 is a more than capable performer with the ball at his feet and, as a result, can pick the right pass to help instigate offensive moves from his own 18-yard box.

With Mathieu willing to drop deeper and to the left of the penalty area, Lloris has an outlet to use, meaning France can dominate possession and not sacrifice the ball with hopeful punts up field that may invite pressure on the defence.

Even when the opposition are attacking, though, Mathieu has proven he is more than capable of limiting their goalscoring chances. Barcelona are conceding the fewest shots per game (7.6) in La Liga, with the France international central to their watertight backline. Only three first-team regulars at the club are averaging more tackles per league game than Mathieu (2.3), while no player is averaging more interceptions per Liga match than the 30-year-old (2.3) of all Barcelona players to have featured at least twice this term.

Only Miranda (3) has made more last man tackles in Spain’s top tier this term than Mathieu (2), with the defender able to cover ground at speed in order to deny the opposition. With Lloris behind him, however, he is unlikely to be forced into such action. The Spurs shotstopper has made a name for himself as being one of the finest sweeper-keepers in the game and his assessing of a situation means Mathieu is unlikely to find himself in a position where he needs to exhibit the side of his game that requires him to make last ditch challenges.

Mathieu has gone above and beyond to prove his worth following his big-money move to Barcelona and he has been duly rewarded with a place in Deschamps’ latest France squad. With Valencia, the experienced centre-back was not handed the chance to prove his worth, but in Catalonia he is excelling.

Deschamps is able to call on Varane, Koscielny, Managla and, when available, Mamadou Sakho on the international stage, so he is not without options at centre-back. However, Mathieu has, arguably, been the best performing French centre-back at Deschamps’ disposal this season and a place in his 23-man squad is the least he has deserved.

Do you think Jeremy Mathieu deserves to be in the France squad? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below