Bundesliga
Thuram: "Gladbach a platform for Champions League and France debuts"
Marcus Thuram has enjoyed a stunning career progression since joining Borussia Mönchengladbach from Guingamp and has already bagged a brace against Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League and made his international debut with world champions France.
The son of France '98 World Cup-winning right-back Lilian Thuram, young Marcus was always a physical specimen, but it took a transfer to Gladbach in the summer of 2019 for him to really start realising his potential.
Last season he recorded a career best 14 goals and nine assists in all competitions for the Foals, and this term the 23-year-old has upped his game again, his four goals and six assists coming in at a rate of one every 84 minutes he has played.
Watch: All 20 of Thuram's Bundesliga goals and assists last term!
"At the moment I'm fully, 100 percent focussed on Borussia," Thuram explained to German sports daily Kicker. "I'm very happy here and haven't spoken to anyone else. Borussia allowed me to take the next steps in my career; I play in the Champions League and made it into the national team.
"And in Gladbach I grew not only as a player, but as a person. Borussia was the best choice for my career."
Thuram and Gladbach can take another step in their progression on Tuesday night: beat Inter Milan and they will qualify for the Champions League last 16 at the Italian giants' expense. Escaping a Group B which also includes Real Madrid is no mean feat, but Thuram feels it is simply par for the course.
"Our performances have been no surprise to me," he said. "I see our quality in training every day. We go into the games with the right attitude and a lot of energy every time. That's what leads to such performances. Our special cohesion within the team's an important factor.
"How happy the whole team was for Breel Embolo when he played against Shakhtar Donetsk and scored his first goal last week [Gladbach beat Shakhtar 4-0 last Wednesday] - that's team spirit."