Get French Football News sat down with former France, Olympique Marseille, AC Milan and Chelsea defender Marcel Desailly to talk to talk about the France squad and the current issues surrounding his former club sides.

In this third of a four-part interview, he talked about how he has changed his mind about Arsenal’s William Saliba.

You mentioned the capacity for the defence to repel attacks. We spoke a couple of years ago and at that time you didn’t seem convinced about William Saliba. Has your view changed at all?

I’ve done a few recent interviews where I have said “I officially apologise to Saliba”. Because it’s true that I wasn’t convinced – when he started I wasn’t pro-Saliba. But I’m really pleased, genuinely. He has shown his ability to perform consistently and has remained clear on his job. What I mean by that is that maybe he isn’t able to bring the ball forward like Sergio Ramos could do, but he has become a very good, very consistent defender.

And today he is showing that he is one of the best defenders, perhaps better than Virgil van Dijk, who is past his peak. He is among the best right now. We need to give him four, five years in the system, without injuries. But today, with Dayot Upamecano – imagine, there are three candidates for two positions – it won’t be easy to choose: Ibrahima Konaté, who has had an average season but did a good job recently against Brazil, Upamecano and Saliba.

So yes I apologise – well maybe not apologise but I say bravo to him. He has silenced the criticisms of those who didn’t believe in him and found that consistency with an Arsenal team that needed a leader. His partnership with Gabriel is excellent.

So would your starting pair for France be Saliba and Upamecano?

Yes. Didier could still surprise us. But I think it’s easier to put Konaté, who has had a season below his best, on the bench rather than Saliba who is coming back from injury and into his best form. So I can see Didier already speaking to Konaté, telling him he is counting on him, that in his mind he would be the first choice but that he is going to play Saliba and so when he needs him he must be ready, but that in the meantime it’s Saliba-Upamecano who are Deschamps’ first choice. It’s a great partnership – well any combination of the three is.

Maxence Lacroix can also do a job, although he is less experienced. There are also the two Hernandez brothers who can play in the centre. So I don’t know if he will take Lacroix to the detriment of the Hernandez brothers. Four people for two spots… we’ll see.

Marcel Desailly was speaking exclusively to Get French Football News courtesy of talkSPORT Bet Online Slots