France debut has given me a ‘turbo boost’ – Corchia

Sebastien Corchia has said that making his international debut for France has given his motivation a “turbo boost”. 

The 26-year-old’s contract with Lille is up at the end of June 2018, and while he explained that he is fully focused on performing well with his current side, there is interest coming from several of Europe’s biggest sides, including Sevilla, Napoli and Paris Saint-Germain – not to mention Premier League clubs. 

"I feel I am now entering the best years of my career with a good mix of experience and appetite for football, and France have given both my ambitions and my personal drive an extra turbo boost,” he told 'Goal'.

"My only focus right now is on LOSC. Next summer I will have one more year left on my contract, and then we will see what happens. It will be an exciting time in my career. 

"I am 26 years old and already with a lot of experience from more than 200 games in Ligue 1 and also on the international scene, both captaining the France Under-21 team and now even being selected for Les Bleus".

Corchia admits the season has been a touch bizarre, as his Lille side are struggling towards the foot of the Ligue 1 standings.

"It has been such a strange start to the season for me, being part of a team not performing like we want to - but also experiencing one of the greatest successes of my career being picked and playing for Les Bleus,” said Corchia. “That is an extreme motivation for me to work extra hard every day at training and to try to be a leader on the pitch for our team".

LOSC suffered a similarly difficult start to the previous season before dramatically reaching Europe, and the defender feels that once again they have started to turn a corner.

He continued: “We finally feel that things are going our way. We have had clean sheets in two of our last three games - and that really counts for me as a defender.

"We scored four against Caen and we had our first away win in Bordeaux. And most importantly, we have won two in a row and not lost in three. 

"There are so many good things to continue, to build upon, and this simply has to be the start of gathering momentum.

"It was a shock for us that we were suddenly not functioning as a team after our great start to 2016. Last season we moved from relegation danger, when Frederic Antonetti took over as our coach and into the top five, qualifying for Europe. And then we reached the final of Coupe de la Ligue. 

"Now we have the same mountain to climb, but the good thing is that we know how to do it. We simply have to copy ourselves".