Didier Deschamps has sent members of his team to watch Matteo Guendouzi in recent weeks, ahead of his France squad announcement on Thursday.

French outlet Telefoot initially reported that Guendouzi was one of a list of names under consideration for a call-up by Deschamps. That rumour has only been given more credence by Le Parisien, who add that the manager’s team have been observing the Arsenal midfielder in recent weeks.

Adrien Rabiot won’t get a call-up after he refused to be part of the reserves list for France over the summer. There’s certainly a spot up for grabs as a result. Tanguy N’Dombele is the most heavily linked to an inclusion in the squad, but that’s more to replace the injured Corentin Tolisso than anything else.

After the first few games of the season, it seemed a certainty that an international call-up for Guendouzi was just around the corner. Since then, he’s stopped starting matches in the Premier League, with Lucas Torreira taking his place. Nonetheless, he’s done well in the Europa League and League Cup, getting his first assist last Wednesday.

Next up, Guendouzi will travel to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday. Hopefully, he’ll do so with the knowledge that he’s in Deschamps’ squad for the international break. We’ll see.