Banking on the preferred weapon: Zidane prepares a special plan for Kylian Mbappé
Back to the roots
The last few months have not been kind to Kylian Mbappé. He swallowed the disappointment of missing out on the Ballon d'Or, then tumbled into a cycle of controversy after his trip to China, before a knee injury piled on the misery. Yet the France captain is back in the Les Bleus camp wearing a different look, with Zinedine Zidane having drawn up a special plan to coax him back to his best.
French website "Foot Mercato" report that Mbappé has returned to Clairefontaine in high spirits, having seemingly shaken off the pressures of a difficult spell. He finished second in the Ballon d'Or race behind Harry Kane by just 28 points, and then came the storm whipped up by that trip to China.
His Real Madrid team-mate Ibrahima Konaté has reinforced the picture, reassuring fans about Mbappé's state of mind and insisting he is in a good place, producing telling displays in recent matches.
Konaté told "Le Parisien": "Kylian is in a very good mental state, and we have seen that in the last few matches, as he has been decisive and very important. He also still retains the same enthusiasm for life, and I think you can notice that."
The positive signs run beyond his mental state. Zidane plans to hand him a technical role that fits his strengths, shelving the idea of using him on the left wing after the last international break and settling him instead in his preferred centre-forward berth.
Mbappé will get his chance in that position during the current camp, a move that could keep his purple patch rolling. He has scored 11 goals in his last nine internationals, and added 17 in 16 matches for Real Madrid this season.
A warm welcome greeted the Les Bleus captain from the fans at Clairefontaine. He turned up smiling in training, his cheerful spirit back, a scene that suggests he has shaken off much of the pressure that had been dragging him down.
France now prepare for matches against Italy and Turkey. The hope is that Mbappé seizes on Zidane's backing, turning the technical confidence placed in him into a performance that confirms his return to top form.
