Aymeric Laporte admits he was ‘jealous’ watching France win the World Cup as his decision to turn his back on Didier Deschamps and play international football for Spain edges closer.

The £57 million defender, represented Les Bleus at youth level yet failed to make a senior appearance.

Two years ago while at Athletic Bilbao, Laporte, who is of Basque descent, was urged by then Spanish manager Julen Lopetegui to explore the possibility of switching nationalities.

He was then called up by France and declared his intentions to play for the country of his birth but a failure to find a way into Deschamps’ plans could see him make the switch ahead of the start of qualification for Euro 2020.

Spain’s disappointing showing at the World Cup together with the search for a ball playing defender to eventually replace the likes of Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique has led to the new national team manager Luis Enrique urging Laporte to change his mind once again.