Third-most popular defender in Dream Team Euros might be BENCHED for Matchday 1

THE deadline for Matchday 1 is a week away and so Dream Team Euros managers should be getting close to locking in their selections.

It’s our duty to ensure gaffers are as well informed as possible when picking their players and that’s why we feel compelled to highlight William Saliba’s (£4.5m) undeserved popularity.

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At the time of writing, the France centre-back is the third-most popular defender in the game.

In fact, his ownership of 19.1% makes him the ninth-most selected player overall.

On the surface this may seem reasonable as the 23-year-old is coming off the back of a highly impressive campaign with Arsenal.

The Gunners boasted the best defensive record in the Premier League and their No2’s composed yet assured brand of defending was a key factor in Mikel Arteta’s side registering 18 clean sheets in the top flight alone.

Couple this with Les Bleus’ status as one of the heavy favourites to triumph in Germany this summer and it would appear that Saliba is strong option worthy of his lofty price tag.

However, Didier Deschamps is not as convinced of Saliba’s talents as the average Premier League viewer.

Arsenal fans have long wondered why their accomplished centre-back has been relatively starved of minutes at international level and France’s long-serving coach addressed the issue back in March.

“He [Saliba] is having a good season,” Deschamps told reporters during the spring international break. “But he also does things that I don’t like so much.

“For France he has limited game time but when he plays, that hasn’t necessarily gone well.”

Over two months have passed since Deschamps made those comments, during which time Saliba produced several classy performances, and so there’s a chance things have changed.

But without any clear indication of France’s starting line-up to face Austria in Matchday 1, gaffers currently backing Saliba should be concerned.

It certainly wouldn’t be a shock if Dayot Upamecano (£4m) and Ibrahima Konate (£4m) started at centre-back for the two-time World champions.

Given the frosty relationship between Deschamps and Saliba, Dream Team bosses would probably be better off finding an alternative for the latter – there’s no need to take such a risk from the get-go.

It should be easy enough to transfer Saliba in at a later date if does jump up the pecking order.