Didier Deschamps on PSG’s Désiré Doué: I knew he had the potential

France national team manager Didier Deschamps was not really surprised by Désiré Doué’s (20) performance in the Champions League final. The versatile PSG winger became the first player in history to register three goal contributions in Europe’s most important showpiece of the season. Doué’s feat is the latest step in a meteoric rise that saw the Rennes Academy product join PSG before earning a first France call-up last March.

“He went from Rennes, where he was doing good things, to PSG, where there were various steps to take and he took them all”, Deschamps tells The Athletic. “I brought him into the France squad. I knew he had the potential and I’ve obviously picked up information on his personality and things like that.” The France national team manager only used a word to describe Doué’s performance against Inter Milan in the Champions League final at such a tender age: “Bravo.”

Deschamps has plenty of riches up front with the likes of Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Rayan Cherki and Michael Olise. But the France manager has seen some unique traits in Doué’s skillset, most notably his ability to beat people and to cover a lot of ground. “He’s able to play in attack and in midfield. He turns 20 on Tuesday (…). He does everything he needs to, but he doesn’t rest on his laurels.”

GFFN | Bastien Cheval