James Milton: Brilliant French forwards look a smart investment amid global financial chaos

There has been a pleasing, straightforward purity about several of this week's sporting highlights. 

Arsenal's Declan Rice wasn't in the mood to mess about with dainty chipped crosses into the box on Tuesday, instead opting to smash two stunning free-kicks past Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois – arguably the world's best goalkeeper.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's goal for Paris St-Germain against Aston Villa was another beauty but it showcased the basic tenets of wing-play at any level of football: beat your man and get your shot away.

The same day, in the IPL, Punjab's rookie opener Priyansh Arya cracked 103 off 42 balls against Chennai, as his fellow top-six batsmen contributed nought, nine, four, nine and one.

ESPNcricinfo described Arya's aria as "a masterclass in see-ball, hit-ball batting". His innings, like Rice and Kvaratskhelia's goals, was a triumph of simplicity, albeit brilliantly executed at an elite level.

Away from sport, things are a little more complicated. What impact will a trade war have on the flow of EFL journeymen heading to Major League Soccer, hoping to swap Port Vale for Portland?

Amid the global financial chaos, though, investing in young French forwards still looks a smart play. 

The Premier League's top four goalscorers this season hail from Egypt, Norway, Sweden and New Zealand but there is still some French influence to be found on the eclectic list.

Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, who have scored 30 goals between them for Brentford, represent Cameroon and DR Congo but both were born in France and they were signed from Troyes and Lorient.

One goal behind Wissa is Jean-Philippe Mateta, whose resurgence at Crystal Palace over the past 12 months means he is now the tenth-highest French goalscorer in Premier League history. Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka, Les Bleus' record scorer Olivier Giroud, Louis Saha and Eric Cantona fill the top five spots.

Mateta has struck 13 times in 2024-25 but Brighton's Georginio Rutter (five) and Chelsea's Christopher Nkunku (three) are next on the list of Gallic goalscorers.

This week's European quarter-finals demonstrated the depth of France's attacking talent even though Real's Kylian Mbappe didn't get much change out of Arsenal centre-backs William Saliba and Jakub Kiwior.

Elsewhere on Tuesday night, Inter's Marcus Thuram provided a delightful assist for Lautaro Martinez against a Bayern Munich side featuring compatriot Michael Olise.

The following evening 19-year-old winger Desire Doue scored a superb goal in PSG's 3-1 win over Villa, justifying his selection ahead of 22-year-old Bradley Barcola, who has contributed 16 goals and 12 assists in 35 Ligue 1 and Champions League starts this season.

Gallic flair: Paris Saint-Germain star Ousmane Dembele in action against Aston VillaCredit: Getty Images

PSG's third goal was set up by Ousmane Dembele, the main beneficiary of Mbappe's departure to Madrid last summer. 

Dembele scored just three Ligue 1 goals in 1,510 minutes in 2023-24; this term he has played 22 more minutes and bagged 21 goals – as well as seven in ten Champions League starts.

The French were out in force again in Thursday's Europa League quarter-final first legs. Hugo Ekitike's early strike helped Eintracht Frankfurt earn a draw at Tottenham and Lyon's Rayan Cherki scored an injury-time equaliser against Manchester United, pouncing on an error from goalkeeper Andre Onana.

Ekitike has scored 20 goals in 35 starts in all competitions for Eintracht and Cherki has claimed a record tally of eight assists in the Europa League, also scoring seven goals and setting up another nine in Ligue 1. 

The duo tore apart England Under-21s in last month's 5-3 friendly win in Lorient. Lyon schemer Cherki registered two assists in the first seven minutes before scoring France's fifth goal and Ekitike needed only 55 minutes to complete his hat-trick.

There was no shortage of Premier League quality and experience in Lee Carsley's England starting 11, which included Rico Lewis, Adam Wharton, Elliot Anderson, James McAtee, Harvey Elliott and Liam Delap, with Arsenal's teenage star Ethan Nwaneri among the substitutes.

Even so, English football fans may be glancing enviously at a vintage crop of attacking talent on the other side of the Channel. 

French forwards used to be flavour of the month in the Premier League and they should be back on the menu for top clubs in the summer transfer window. Plat du jour, Rodney.

Read more . . .

James Milton's football predictions: Seagulls set for a swift start 

Mark Langdon: How does Mohamed Salah's new deal impact next season's title betting? 

Simon Giles: European commitments undermine league form although Liverpool defy the trend 

Aaron Ashley: Will sorry Southampton beat Derby's dismal points total? 

Click for free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.