Christopher Jullien’s international hopes are alive and well as the player opened up on his France ambition.
Jullien did make appearances with the under-20 side in his younger days, and also won the under-2o World Cup too. However, a senior call-up has unfortunately eluded him since.
Competition with France at centre-back is as quality-stacked as you could imagine too. Jullien is up against the likes of Raphael Varane, Clement Lenglet, Kurt Zouma, and Samuel Umtiti to name a few.
Yet the competition levels certainly haven’t spooked the former Dijon and Toulouse centre-back. After some storming Europa League performances, Jullien told the Scotsman that he still has an eye on making some international appearances with the world champions.
“It’s my dream to be an international player. When you touch it a little bit when you are young and you see others you have played with going on to represent France, it’s unbelievable.
“As I say, it’s a dream but I know I am far from it just now because there are so many good players. But who does not dream of playing for their country?
“Who knows? If you have the number of the national trainer in France and you want to call him about me there’s no problem. It would be a dream but there are so many good players in that team – that’s why they won the World Cup.”
International hopes look a tad optimistic
Jullien has certainly been a stunning performer for Celtic this season. After a ropey start where he failed to start six of the first eight matches he was available for, he’s come into some real form.
21 appearances for the big man and 10 clean sheets is a fine return (Transfermarkt). He’s build up a trustworthy looking partnership between himself and Kristoffer Ajer. Despite some initial teething problems, the duo look terrific together.
But making the France squad? You can’t help but feel that’s a tad optimistic just now. Jullien’s rivals are all playing Champions League football at clubs such as Barcelona, Chelsea, and Real Madrid respectively.
Therefore, regardless of how well Jullien does for us in the Europa League, he likely can’t ask serious questions of his rivals until we quality for Europe’s premier club competition.
Of course, that doesn’t mean a call-up is impossible. After all, Dedryck Boyata managed to head off to the World Cup with Belgium in the summer of 2018. He was hardly lauded by Celtic fans on a weekly basis. The difference is that he got his chance and won the trust of manager Roberto Martinez.
Jullien will need to hope he can get some similar luck with Didier Deschamps. However, if we’re all being honest, that could be a while yet.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
