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On Friday, we looked at Florian Thauvin’s rise in French football over the past season, and how the boy who arrived at Newcastle was slowly turning into a man and a key-member of Rudi Garcia’s squad at Marseille.

One of the more in-form players in Ligue 1 this season, with 10 goals and six assists to his name in 30 league appearances, the 24-year-old has once and for all clarified his future for next season.

Still technically on loan from Newcastle until the end of the season, there was always an expectation that Thauvin would be remaining in France for the 2017-18 campaign, and he told RMC Sport in France ahead of his first international camp with the French national team that he was on a ‘loan option to buy, which was triggered after three games’ in his second loan spell at his former club.

Rafa Benitez even addressed the situation surrounding the Newcastle loanee in a recent press conference, and it was clear Thauvin was done with St James’ Park about five months into his time there.

That, however, doesn’t mean his time in England was for nothing.

He said: “I’m 24 years old now. It’s been a while that I work on me to be consistent every game. My time in England did me some good and helped me understand the expectations of the high level. I hope I’m ready for this status [of international]. I’ll do my best to assume it.”

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