Veretout has been in fine form for Marseille this season, with a goal and two assists as well as averaging more than three shot-creating actions per game to help les Phocéens into fourth heading into winter break.

The 29-year-old midfielder has played in England's Premier League and Italy's Serie A, but only made his France debut last September. He can expect to rack up the caps this winter, though…

Back story:

Born in Ancenis in western France on 1 March 1993, Veretout started making the short journey to Nantes at the age of 10 and racked up 145 first-team appearances for les Canaris - helping them to promotion as Ligue 2 BKT champions in 2013 - before leaving for Aston Villa in 2015.

After a brief return to France with on loan with AS Saint-Étienne he moved to Italy in 2017, first with Fiorentina and latterly with Roma, with whom he won the UEFA Europa Conference League under Jose Mourinho last year. Marseille then brought him back to Ligue 1 Uber Eats in August.

Style of play:

Veretout is a box-to-box midfielder who loves to deliver a diagonal pass from deep almost as much as breaking into the opposition area to get involved in attacks, giving him some distinct stylistic similarities with Pogba.

Right-footed, Veretout has tended to line up on the left of Marseille's double pivot under Igor Tudor this season.

Current campaign:

Veretout has had competition from France teammate Mattéo Guendouzi as well as Valentin Rongier and Pape Gueye at the Orange Vélodrome this season, but he has grown in influence in recent weeks, and hit stunning equaliser as Marseille battled back to beat AS Monaco 3-2 in the final game before the break.

Watch: Highlights of Marseille's 3-2 win over Monaco

What they said:

"When Marseille came to present their project to me, I definitely wanted to leave even though Mourinho wanted me to stay, but he understood my choice to leave, to go back to France, also for my family."

- Veretout on swapping Roma for Marseille this summer.

"Jordan's an exceptional player, dynamic and very intelligent. He knows how to anticipate certain moments in the match better than anyone else."

- Tudor on Veretout's recent form.