The names of Manu Kone and Khephren Thuram have been abundant in conversation about prospective Liverpool summer transfers over the past 48 hours, and Reds fans mightn’t even have to wait until the new season to get a glimpse of the two in action together.
As noted by @DaveOCKOP on Twitter, the duo have both been included in the France squad for the upcoming European Under-21 Championship, with the full selection available to view at fff.fr.
The hotly-linked midfield duo are joined in the roster by a former Anfield player in Yasser Larouci, who now plays with Troyes in his homeland after making just two competitive appearances for LFC (Transfermarkt).
The French under-21s take on Italy (22 June), Norway (25 June) and Switzerland (28 June) in Group D at the finals in Romania and Georgia.
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Liverpool fans will certainly be interested to see how the duo perform, particularly if they are selected together in midfield and either or both have finalised moves to Anfield by the time the tournament gets underway.
There’s a good chance they’ll be on the same pitch simultaneously at the finals, with both Kone and Thuram featuring regularly for the France under-21s over the past 12 months (as per Transfermarkt).
The latter was even called up to the senior Les Bleus squad in March, although he won’t be involved in their Euro 2024 qualifiers this month due to his participation in the Under-21 Euros.
Seeing the two midfielders in action alongside each other at the upcoming tournament could whip Reds fans into a frenzy of excitement, particularly if they make a big impression, although you just hope any standout displays won’t see them enter the shop window for other clubs.
That could instigate a sense of urgency into the powerbrokers at Liverpool to act swiftly so that nobody else will latterly swoop in for the duo.